Monmouth County Native to Represent Team USA at Sochi

I'm a huge fan of the Olympic Games. I think it's really cool to see all of the world's best athletes showing off their talents for the world.

It's even cooler when one of those athletes is from our own backyard.

24-year-old James van Riemsdyk hails from Middletown, NJ and will compete in Sochi, Russia as part of the U.S. men's hockey team.

Van Riemsdyk is a professional hockey player, serving as Left Wing on the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Does is bother anyone else that it's Maple Leafs and not Maple Leaves? I digress.) He'll represent his home country in this year's Olympic Games.

He at one point attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft before transferring to Michigan to work with the U.S. National Hockey Team Development Program.

You can see him and all of the U.S. men's hockey team play during this year's Olympic Games starting next week.

Team USA plays Slovakia on Thursday, Feb. 13th. They'll play host country Russia on Saturday, Feb. 15th, and Slovenia on Sunday, Feb. 16th. Hopefully they'll move on to next round after those games. All three games will be played at 7:30 a.m. local time, airing on NBC Sports Network.

Good luck, James! We'll be cheering for you!

Will you watch any of the 2014 Olympics? Tell us in the comment section below!