Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings JVR is Batman
Dresses as Caped Crusader for son’s birthday
Holy dramatic arrivals, who knew that Batman’s secret identity was that of none other than Detroit Red Wings forward James van Riemsdyk?
Well, for one special night it was.
Arriving at the Bell Centre for Saturday’s showdown for the Atlantic Division lead against the Montreal Canadiens, JVR came off the Red Wings team adorned as the Caped Crusader, cowl and all. And he had a very special reason for his unique wardrobe choice.
Saturday was his son Liam’s fourth birthday. And it just so happens that Liam’s favorite superhero is Batman.
Since he couldn’t be there to share Liam’s special day with him, van Riemsdyk found another way to make his son’s day special.
“Happy Birthday, Liam! I miss you so much! Love you, buddy,” van Riemsdyk said in a post on the Red Wings’ social media.
You could say that he was sending his son a personal bat signal.
JVR Performing Like a Superhero For the Red Wings
Signed to a one-year, $1 million contract as an unrestricted free agent in July, van Riemsdyk is providing super heroic efforts for the team and receiving superlatives from the coaching staff and his Detroit teammates.
“Riemer has the ability to handle the puck in tight quarters and find people, and I think that instinct or sense of where somebody might be, he’s been there so often and done it for so long that it happens,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “If you can create for yourself and create space and opportunity for your teammates around there, you’re pretty darn good. And James would be one of those.”
JVR is fourth on the Red Wings with 11 goals. He’s scored 10 goals over his past 20 games.
“Confidence is everything, and you can see he’s playing with a lot of it right now,” Detroit center Andrew Copp said. “And, yeah, he’s got a knack for the net. It’s kind of unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Just how good he is around the net, just his craftiness with the puck, and around the net.
“I think that’s what he’s done his whole career. It just kind of can be under the radar a little bit.”
I. Am. B̶a̶t̶m̶a̶n̶.̶ James van Riemsdyk.
Happy birthday, Liam!#LGRW pic.twitter.com/7b7o22RhcA
— FanDuel Sports Network Detroit (@FanDuelSN_DET) January 11, 2026
JVR collected an assist as Detroit dumped Montreal 4-0 to reclaim the Atlantic Division lead, but that wasn’t the most astonishing moment of the night.
Bell Centre staff made Batman go through security before allowing him to enter the building.
Wingers…
Yzerman has taken a great deal of heat for a number of decisions and in a number of cases it was well deserved. TM was a good move; Gibson was a good move and there were others, but JVR had to be one of the best moves for this team hands down.
Those no look between the leg passes is beyond belief. That my friends is a pro hockey player to be sure.
Saw Kane get checked into the boards there in the third period, got to wonder how many games he’ll miss on this latest hockey encounter???
PBB
You take JVR. I’ll take Kane all day.
I would say both are beneficial. It takes a team to win.
Now put Kane back on the #1 PP where he belongs.