COLUMBUS -- Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk are forever linked as the top two picks in the 2007 NHL Draft.
Come Saturday, the two will also add to their League-leading totals among skaters to play in outdoor games when the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA).
Kane, the Detroit forward who was the No. 1 pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, will play in his seventh such game, breaking a seven-way tie for second all-time. Van Riemsdyk, the No. 2 pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007 and current Columbus forward, will extend his record to eight outdoor games.
"They're all special and unique in their own way," van Riemsdyk said. "They're always fun, because I think it brings a lot of people in your support circle that helped you a lot along the way. So I know I have a bunch of family and friends that are coming that have been in [my] corner all the way through, and that [helped me] a lot along the way, especially now I'm older and have kids."
Van Riemsdyk has played in the Winter Classic three times, the Stadium Series twice, and the Centennial Classic and NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe once each; four of those games having come with the Flyers and three with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He's 3-3-1 in those games and has three goals and six points.
"Getting a chance to go to some college football games over the years, (I've) been to some at The Big House (in Michigan), been to one here this year," he said. "It's a special environment, atmosphere, and this is obviously one of the premier ones with how good their program is here. So for us to kind of be able to share with that and get a taste of that's going to be pretty special."