Matt Rempe hopes his offseason made him a better fighter and a better player for the Rangers
Matt Rempe was fighting and Georges Laraque did not like what he saw.
“He was getting hit way too much in the face,” Laraque said.
Laraque would know. Over the course of more than 150 fights in the NHL, he lasted more than a decade as an enforcer because he knew how to reduce the number of blows to his head. He reached out to Rempe to give some advice over the phone, then spent a few days with him on the ice over the summer to teach the 6-foot-8 forward some of the finer points about fighting.
That was just one piece of Rempe's offseason education, which also included nearly daily power skating and working with New York Rangers veteran Chris Kreider on tipping pucks in front of the net. The 22-year-old Rempe goes into his first full season expecting to be better at hockey — with and without his gloves on.
“The fighting is a very small part, and I highly prioritized the skills and skating and everything,” Rempe said over the summer. “I’ve got to become a better player, so that’s what I’ve got to work on. I definitely enjoyed it, and I think I’ve taken big strides this summer with that.”
With 28 games of regular-season and playoff experience under his belt — and five bouts against some of the sport's toughest heavyweights — Rempe's goal is to prove he can be an everyday player. Laraque thinks Rempe could develop into a quality third-liner because he's so young and willing to learn how to add to his physical attributes.
“Without fighting, that guy could be a factor, and that’s what a lot of people don’t know," Laraque told The Associated Press by phone. “He’s a force. Dumping the puck, when the ‘D' will go retrieve, they’re going to die. He’s so strong that the whiplash, just the contact of him while skating how fast he is, he’s going to hurt guys. ... He’s a truck.”
Rempe's hopes
Rempe added 15 pounds of muscle in the gym in addition to everything on the ice aiming to manage and protect the puck better and eventually perhaps be counted on as a penalty killer, like he was at the junior level. Teammates are expecting more of everything from Rempe in the coming months.
“His game will improve,” center Vincent Trocheck said. “You can tell he worked really hard this summer and he got bigger — somehow — and stronger. But he’s fast. He can fly. For a guy his size, he flies. He’s got good hands, and he’s been working hard. With opportunity, I think he’ll continue to get better.”
Rempe wears No. 73, but he's already No. 1 in the hearts of Rangers fans, based largely off fighting Matt Martin of the Islanders outdoors in front of a crowd of nearly 80,000 at MetLife Stadium in his NHL debut in February. He is not afraid to throw his fists and his body around in a very old-school way. Trocheck said he has only heard three names chanted at Madison Square Garden — Rempe and two elite goalies, Igor Shesterkin and Henrik Lundqvist.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trocheck said. “Last year was crazy with Remps. Rangers faithful really fell in love with him.”
Will he fight less?
Fans need to realize Rempe probably will not fight as much moving forward. He does not think he fought too much last season, but Rempe and Laraque talked about being smarter about knowing when to accept and when to decline.
“The thing with fighting is that fighting is not just technical, how to use your reach, what to do if you’re in trouble. It’s also when to do it,” said Laraque, who explained how older players trap tired rookies at the end of their shifts and use other tricks to gain an upper hand. “You have to make sure that when you get into it, you’re 100%."
Rempe isn't sure if he has a target on his back given his reputation, but he knows he has a presence. He also does not want to back down and said he enjoys fighting, so it won't totally disappear from his game.
Hence Rempe taking Laraque up on his offer and going through four two-hour sessions in July at a rink in Nisku, Alberta, just south of Edmonton (Rempe is from Calgary).
“We fought and worked on his technique for like two hours every day until everything was perfect,” Laraque said. “I have no doubt that this year, if or when he get into a scuffle, you’re going to see a different man than you saw last year.”
Growing his game
Lundqvist, the Hall of Famer and longtime face of the franchise who now has his number retired in the rafters in New York, liked what he saw from Rempe in his rookie year.
"It’s hard to miss him when you have that size and speed," Lundqvist said. “He was very impactful when he played. He’s a great skater with good speed and obviously he has this presence on the ice where I’m sure, the opponents, they’re aware when he’s on the ice.”
After averaging roughly six minutes a game so far and putting up just three points, what Rempe worked on beyond the fighting could help him stay on the ice more and be more productive. He isn't pretending to be Artemi Panarin or Mika Zibanejad, but Rempe has very clear path toward exactly the type of player he wants to be.
“Just be speedy, hard to play against, mean, bring an edge, a great net-front presence,” Rempe said. “Make sure the other team always knows that, hey, they’re going to have to deal with me every night.”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
