You can measure Matt Rempe’s commitment to improve off of this sentence — “I’m going to stay right here and train with Kreids the rest of the summer”— and the tale of the tape might even exceed the 6-foot-8 ¹/₂ inches the 22-year-old winger stands.
Because volunteering to train with Chris Kreider in Connecticut until camp opens the third week of September is the equivalent of signing up for boot camp. This is not for the faint of heart or the weak of character. This is serious business. This is a work regimen for those who dare to be the best versions of themselves.
“I want to go in there, earn a role, go in there, take strides from last year and go into camp, work my bag off every day and show them I can be an effective player and show that I’ve taken big steps from last season,” Rempe said Thursday before participating in the Shoulder Check Showcase mental health initiative at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford. “I’ve got to earn it, I have to earn everything. I’m excited to do that.”
Matt Rempe participates in a charity hockey event on July 25, 2024.
Rempe was one of up to couple of dozen NHL players at this second annual event to take the pledge to check in on teammates, joining those such as Kreider, Johathan Quick, Trevor Zegras, Ryan Strome, Kevin Shattenkirk, Kevin Hayes, Frank Vatrano and Sonny Milano.
“Quickie shot me a text to come out, then a couple of hours later Kreids shot me a text and then [strength and conditioning consultant] Ben Prentiss shot me a text so I said, ‘Oh, I’m getting a lot of texts, so I’d better come out,’ ” Rempe said of his participation in the event honoring Hayden Thorsen. “That’s how it came about.
“It’s extremely important to check in on everyone. Taking care of your loved ones is the most important thing in the world.”
Matt Rempe (R.) and Chris Kreider embrace during a charity hockey event on
July 25, 2024.
Rempe spent the first portion of the offseason at home in Calgary, where he was a bit more famous than he had been at the same time last year after his outsized half-season in New York where he established a New York pro sports record for most headlines per minutes played. Rempe worked with a physical trainer and spiffed up his pugilistic skills in clinics with noted former enforcer Georges Laraque. There was also a day at the Calgary Stampede.
“Summer’s been great, it was nice being back in Calgary for five weeks to hang out with my family and hang out with my friends and I got some really good work in as well,” said No. 73. “The Stampede, it was fun only but I went one day because it can be a crazy place. It’s a good time.
“It was nuts … it was nuts.”
Rempe will compete for a fourth-line role after averaging 5:38 of ice time per game in his 17 contests last year after making his NHL debut at the Stadium Series outdoor game at MetLife on Feb. 18. The Rangers will be making a terrible mistake if they try to force Rempe into either an enforcer’s or fourth-line box. There is more there.
“I feel like I can be a very, very effective bottom-six player who is fast, mean, physical, skates well, protects pucks well, goes to the net and be good around the net,” Rempe said, echoing what he had offered first on breakup day. “I want to be a good penalty killer and feel like I can be a guy who one day can be on a shutdown line, be very hard to play against and also create offense around the net by bringing pucks to the net.
“I have a long way to go but that’s all I’m working toward.”
Chris Kreider looks on during a charity hockey event on July 25, 2024.
The work has begun with a drill sergeant named Kreider.
“He is incredibly driven, incredibly focused and wants to get better every single day, and he’s going to,” said No. 20. “He’s got super discipline and incredible willpower. He’s going to keep on getting better.
“Scary … for every other team.”
