Dietz: Everything breaks right for van Riemsdyk

One step into the trainer's room last January, and Frans van Riemsdyk knew it was bad. There was his son Trevor lying on the table writhing in pain with a busted ankle and a look in his eyes a father will never forget.

"We didn't even have to exchange a word, I just knew that his mind was racing about, 'Oh my goodness. What's just happened here? Are all my hopes gone now?' " Frans recalled. "When you're lying there on the table, you really don't know what the diagnosis is."

Trevor, then a junior defenseman at the University of New Hampshire, had a fractured ankle and his season was over. For Frans, this was a moment to comfort and encourage his middle son and keep the bigger picture in mind.

"Exhale. Just relax," Frans said. "Do what you've always done. One step at a time. Don't rush. Don't think too far ahead."

And that's exactly what happened. Trevor rehabbed, signed a two-year contract with the Blackhawks, and set his sights on trying to make a roster stacked with Stanley Cup winning players.

To say the odds were against him is stating the obvious. Every defenseman, winger and center on the Hawks' roster is a drafted player, many of whom were taken in the first three rounds.

But Trevor excelled in rookie camp, turned coaches' heads in training camp, and eventually shocked the most seasoned observers by working his way onto the opening-day roster.

"I noticed in the exhibition game against Detroit," said winger Ben Smith. "He played a lot of minutes. He held onto the puck, he made plays and he didn't panic. That's tough for a guy playing in his first training camp and coming right out of college."

Dad's influence

Considering his dad's love of the sport, it was pretty much a given that Trevor would get into hockey at some level. Frans recalled the sage advice he received as a youngster: "My father always reminded me that, 'Hey you were born in Montreal. It's an obligation that you become a hockey fan.' "

And so it began.

Trevor's older brother, James, was always a standout player and eventually became the second overall pick in the NHL draft, taken by the Flyers in 2007. James is now on the Maple Leafs.

Frans and his wife, Allison, went from Toronto to Chicago, then home to New Jersey all in less than a week to catch games in which all three of their sons were playing.

There's another date circled on the calendar as well: Nov. 1, when the Hawks travel to Toronto.

Just don't ask Frans who he'll be rooting for.

"I'm not sure how we're going to react to the two of them going after each other," he said. "It's one thing when they're going after each other as young guys as they normally would - one's a forward, one's a defender - basically knocking the (crud) out of each other. But it'll be a whole other thing when you see it in that sort of a setting.

"I'll make sure that I keep my wife close by and calm her nerves a bit. And she'll have to do the same with me, frankly."

Q's thoughts

During the Hawks' first three games, Trevor has received consistent playing time and held his own on the ice. He had a bit of bad luck Wednesday when the puck - off a shot from the Flames' Dennis Wideman - ricocheted off his stick and bounced past Corey Crawford. Other than that hiccup, his predictable, steady play hasn't been lost on coach Joel Quenneville.

"He's got excellent reads and a real patience level for the puck," Quenneville said before Wednesday's game. "He kills a lot of plays. He's been a real nice addition to our team and a real nice fit for us.

Trevor, who said he probably had a stick in his hands from the time he could walk, didn't have huge expectations when he signed his two-year deal. But his one-day-at-a-time, never-get-too-high-or-too-low attitude has served him well - on and off the ice.

"He doesn't get too far ahead of himself," Frans said. "If he has an off day, he's very level-headed. That character trait comes through in his game. People always remark how poised he is. That's the kind of person he is - level-headed and calm."

The season is still in its infancy and nothing is guaranteed, especially with an organization with so much talent itching to get a call-up from the minor-league system. So does this even-keeled rookie ever get a little excited that he's on a title-contending, Original Six squad?

OK, he'll admit it ...

"A couple times you fall asleep with a smile on your face knowing where you've come from with the injury last year to be here right now," Trevor said. "It's pretty special."

jdietz@dailyherald.com