A native of Lr. Sackville, James last played youth soccer for Scotia on the Under 16 Tier 1 team in 2004.  In the fall of 2004, he decided to focus on his hockey career and retired from soccer.  In June 2005, he made the QMJHL Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, where he played until April 2007. He then played in the National Hockey League for the Minnosota Wild until he had an ATV accident in 2010.  In 2011 he was traded to the San Jose Sharks and played on their AHL team for 1-1/2 seasons returning full time to the Sharks in the 2013-14 season. In March, 2015, James was traded in the 2014-15 season to the New York Rangers ending up playing in the NHL Conference finals. Currently a free agent, James attended the Columbus Blue Jackets' training camp for 2015-16. In September, 2015, Columbus released James from his professional tryout agreement. For the 2015-16 season James is playing for Kloten, Switzerland.