Although the New York Rangers couldn’t make it all the way, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, they had a lot of positives in the 2023-24 season.
Matt Rempe was definitely one of those very positive things.
The rookie sensation came out of nowhere and took everyone in Manhattan by storm with his physical play, his big hits, and his fearsome knuckles.
Rempe played his first game in the NHL in February and became an immediate fan favorite.
He fought an NHL veteran in his first shift in the league, and during the spring, he dropped the gloves with some of the toughest guys in NHL.
Rempe did have some trouble staying on the right side of things sometimes, earning suspensions for nasty hits, but overall, he was exactly what the Rangers needed.
Head coach Peter Laviolette said he has never seen a player make such an impact in his first year, and now, Rempe will look to continue that and improve even more.
But before leaving for summer vacation, which Rempe will start with a 38-hour drive home to Calgary, he met with reporters to talk about the season that just ended for Rempe and the Rangers and the next one.
He immediately started off by making everyone laugh and sharing what he plans to do next.
”First off, I gotta get rid of my eye infection. I look like an idiot. Sorry about that,” Rempe said.
He then talked more seriously about how he wants to be a more complete player next year.
”I want to bring more to the table,” Rempe said. ”I want to be a guy who can play 8 to 12 minutes every single night.
“I want to be real good defensively. I eventually want to be a penalty-killer, but I gotta earn all these things. I want to work on my skating, work on my skill set, making plays with the puck, passing, every part of my game. I also want to work on the fighting — I want to be a guy, I really enjoy that part of the game. I want to continue to work on that and then get stronger, growing into my body, more mobility, everything. I got a lot of work to do.”
