James van Riemsdyk had heard the horror stories. About the blowouts. About how revolting the situation can get. About how one mistake could leave you with an absolute mess on your hands.
But to his surprise, he's actually pretty good at changing a diaper.
"I thought it was going to be terrible. But it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be," said the relieved first-time father and leading scorer for the Philadelphia Flyers.
James and Lauren van Riemsdyk welcomed daughter Scarlett Everly to the world on May 2, 2020. He had nearly three months with his newborn before shipping off to the NHL postseason bubble in Toronto, where the Flyers played through Sept. 5 before losing to the New York Islanders in the conference semifinals. He missed his family, although it also meant he missed some growing pains.
"My wife was telling me that when we were in the bubble, and [Scarlett] was between 2 and 4 months old, she wasn't sleeping very well. She had to be rocked to sleep whether it was a nap or to go to sleep for the night," van Riemsdyk told ESPN. "We started her on sleep training about three days after I got back from the bubble, and now she sleeps like a champ through the night. And my wife is like, 'Of course, the minute you get home, she figures out how to sleep.'"
In his first NHL regular season as a father, van Riemsdyk's days away from the rink are spent "on the clock" with Scarlett. Which is fine by him. "When you go home and get time to spend with your child, as new parents, that can be a great thing. A lot of fun. Something to take your mind off of 'hockey, hockey, hockey' all the time. It's a good balance for me to have. This has allowed me to have more of that balance in my life," he said.
Becoming a parent inevitably makes one acknowledge the passage of time. But for an NHL player there's "real life age" and "hockey age." In life, having a child at 31 years old doesn't make you ancient. In hockey, having your 20-year-old linemate define you as the old guy sorta does.
"He's an older guy. He leads by example. He's playing really well for us, and I really enjoy playing on a line with him. I think we have good chemistry," said Flyers winger Joel Farabee, who was 7 years old when his teammate van Riemsdyk was drafted in 2007.
"I'm a dinosaur nowadays," van Riemsdyk said with a laugh. "I definitely don't feel old. But it's amazing how things shift during your career."