James Patrick Vandermeer (born February 21, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who last played for the Belfast Giants of the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

(EIHL). Vandermeer previously played for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Amateur

Vandermeer capped-off a four-year career (1997–2001) with the Red Deer Rebels of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) winning the Memorial Cup in 2001, while leading the WHL that season in plus/minus, with a +49. The recipient of the WHL Humanitarian of the Year award in 2001, Vandermeer served as the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

from 1999–2001, and amassed over 700 PIM in his four years in

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

Professional

On December 21, 2000, Vandermeer signed with the

as an undrafted free agent. He made his professional AHL debut with the

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum (arena), Spectrum ...

during the 2001-02 season. On January 2, 2003, Vandermeer made his NHL debut with the

playing against the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

. On February 19, 2004, Vandermeer was traded to the

with

Colin Fraser Colin Fraser may refer to: *Colin Fraser (Australian politician) (died 1877), Australian politician *Colin Fraser (Canadian politician) (born 1978), Canadian politician * Colin Fraser (ice hockey) (born 1985), Canadian professional ice hockey playe ...

and a 2004 second round draft pick in exchange for

Alexei Zhamnov Alexei Yuryevich "Alex" Zhamnov (russian: Алексей Юрьевич Жамнов; born October 1, 1970) is the current head coach of the Russia men's national ice hockey team and former professional ice hockey centre who played in the Nationa ...

. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Vandermeer played with the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...

, the AHL affiliate to the

. Vandermeer re-signed with the

from 2005-08. He was named one of the team's alternate captains for select games and earned over $3 million during this time. On December 18, 2007, Vandermeer was traded back to the

in exchange for

Ben Eager Benjamin Arthur Eager (born January 22, 1984) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. Playing career Eager was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the A ...

. On February 20, 2008, Vandermeer was traded by the Flyers to the

for a third round pick in the

2009 NHL Entry Draft The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...

. On July 1, 2008, Vandermeer signed a three-year deal worth $6.9 million as an unrestricted free agent with the

. On June 27, 2009, Vandermeer was traded by the Flames to the

in exchange for

Brandon Prust Brandon Raymond James Prust (born March 16, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. Prust was drafted in the third round, 70th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, and has played in the NHL for the ...

. On April 7, 2010, Vandermeer was named Man of the Year by the

. On June 30, 2010, Vandermeer was traded by the Coyotes to the

in exchange for

Patrick O'Sullivan Patrick O'Sullivan (born February 1, 1985) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and P ...

. During the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season with the Oilers, Vandermeer was named one of the alternate captains for select games. On March 22, 2011, Vandermeer recorded his 100th career point vs the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

with an assist on a goal by

Jordan Eberle Jordan Leslie Eberle (; born May 15, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2008 NHL En ...

. On July 1, 2011, Vandermeer became an unrestricted free agent and signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the

. On January 14, 2013, after the lockout ended, Vandermeer continued his journeyman career in signing a one-year, two-way contract with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

that paid him $600,000 at the NHL level and $275,000 at the AHL level. Vandermeer spent the majority of the shortened season with the Canucks AHL affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

, and was named one of the team's alternate captains for select games. On September 6, 2013, Vandermeer signed a one-year contract in Switzerland with the

Kloten Flyers EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...

of the NLA. He signed one-year contract extensions with the Kloten Flyers in November 2013, and September 2014. On February 2, 2016, Vandermeer signed with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Vandermeer re-signed with the Giants in August 2017 for the 2017-18 season, becoming Belfast's player/assistant coach alongside head coach Adam Keefe in the process. Vandermeer remained with Belfast until the end of the 2018–19 season.

Personal

Born and raised in Caroline, Alberta, Vandermeer has a brother,

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

, a pro hockey player himself. Vandermeer and his wife, Stefanie, were introduced by their mutual friend

Brent Seabrook Brent Seabrook (born April 20, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman under contract for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played fifteen seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, who selected him ...

in 2007. They were married on July 3, 2009 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. NHL stars

and James Wisniewski served as groomsmen. They reside in Vancouver during the offseason. They have two children, a son, born in 2013 and a daughter, born in 2014.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandermeer, Jim 1980 births Belfast Giants players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Dutch descent Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Wolves players Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Alberta EHC Kloten players Living people Norfolk Admirals players People from Clearwater County, Alberta Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players Phoenix Coyotes players Red Deer Rebels players San Jose Sharks players Undrafted National Hockey League players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Northern Ireland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States