How Rangers player Matt Rempe earned the respect of a tough league opponent last season
When the New York Rangers arrived in Columbus to visit the Blue Jackets on February 25 of last season, Matt Rempe had just completed his first week in the NHL. But the tall rookie had already made a name for himself in those first seven days and four games in the league. And Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier was waiting for him at Nationwide Arena.
It is well documented that Rempe and Olivier had a fight in the first period that night. In fact, Rempe was beaten up so badly in that fight that it raised major concerns about his future, given how many punches he took in the early stages of his NHL career.
And Rempe slowed his fighting pace after throwing three fights in his first five games, dropping the gloves two games later when he faced Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves and then again last season in the wild brawl against the New Jersey Devils on April 3.
But with this fight in Columbus, Rempe earned the respect of Olivier. As Columbus striker Adam Fantilli told John Scott on the Drop the gloves In our podcast this week, Olivier and Rempe didn’t fight until after discussing it during pre-game warmups. Olivier wanted to make sure Rempe was ready to fight first, as the kid had an absolutely wild fight against heavyweight Nic Deslauriers of the Philadelphia Flyers the day before.
“I’m pretty sure Rempe played the game before (Feb. 24 in Philadelphia) and … we played them the next night or something, and ‘Olly’ said something like, ‘Listen, man, if you need a night (to recover),’ … and I’m pretty sure the story goes that (Rempe) said, ‘No, we’re leaving tonight,'” Fantilli recalled.
Just 2 minutes and 12 minutes into the first period, the fourth-line players found each other and the fight began. It didn’t last long, however. Despite giving Rempe at least six inches of space, the 6’1″ and 220-pound Blue Jackets forward landed more than a dozen right hooks to the rookie’s head, many of them clean, hard strikes. The quick dominance ended when Olivier hurled Rempe to the ice.
“When Olly is mad, he’s one of the scariest people I’ve ever seen,” Fantilli explained. “He was definitely better than Rempe in that fight. But he had so much respect for Rempe because he actually beat her two nights in a row.”
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Rangers young heavyweight earns respect from Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier
Rempe had already battled Matt Martin of the Islanders in his outdoor NHL debut at MetLife Stadium and racked up 15 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct, in his first three games against the New Jersey Devils. Then, in a matinee game against the Flyers on February 24, Rempe scored his first NHL goal, the game-winning goal in the third period in a 2-1 win. He also had a hell of a battle with Deslauriers.
The two heavyweights exchanged heavy blows in a lengthy fight that left each fighter exhausted in the penalty box.
It was this fight three minutes into the first half that prompted Olivier to approach Rempe during warm-up the next day and make sure the young man was in good physical and mental shape to fight again so soon after the Deslauriers fight.
“I just told him, ‘Great competition yesterday. Hope you’re doing OK,’ because it was a tough fight. And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m OK.’ On the first shift, he came in and asked me, so he deserves a lot of respect for that. Hats off to him,” Olivier said after the game. “For lack of a better word, that takes courage.”
Encouraged by coach Peter Laviolette to fight less but continue to be a physical force in other ways, Rempe has a long way to go to earn a regular spot in the Rangers’ lineup this season. He played 11 of the 16 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, scored the Rangers’ first goal of the postseason and was a solid contributor at both ends of the ice in limited ice time. He didn’t face a single fight in the playoffs after totaling five goals in 17 regular-season games.
Rempe took fight lessons from former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque this summer. But that was just part of his overall effort to improve in all areas of his game ahead of training camp. The 23-year-old returned to the tri-state area in July and has been training with Chris Kreider since then.
“I feel like you get a little something from each person. Learn here and there and take as much information as you can,” Rempe said earlier this summer at the Shoulder Check charity event in Connecticut. “All these people are so amazing and trying to help me. It’s an honor to learn as much as I can.”
It’s an honor for me to learn that. And it’s an honor for me to earn the respect of opponents like Olivier.
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