DALLAS — Matt Rempe embraced his AHL assignment.
After the Rangers rookie bounced between the NHL club and the minors for the first six-and-a-half weeks of the season, Rempe has settled into his new role with the Wolf Pack as both a top-six skater and a special teams contributor.
While the start of the 2024-25 campaign hasn’t gone the way Rempe presumably imagined it would after he burst onto the NHL scene last season, the 22-year-old still has relished his increased AHL responsibilities and maintained a positive outlook on how it will all help him in the long run.
Rempe got his first chance to showcase his progress Friday night against the Stars at American Airlines Center.
“I wouldn’t say a reset. I think it’s all just development,” Rempe said of how he perceived his Hartford assignment. “I got a long journey ahead of me. I’ve come a long way in a short time, and I think that the best thing for me is to just keep developing and stuff like that. First years in Hartford, I don’t think I played over 12 minutes once. I don’t think I played a single second of special teams ever. I think that for me to go and suddenly play 18 minutes and be very effective, as well, not just be given that, earn it, as well.
“I can be very effective in those minutes. It’s very beneficial. I think it means my game’s come a long way. I wouldn’t say a reset. I think it’s just more development. I think now I got to hopefully showcase that, as well, and show that, ‘Hey, wow, he’s really good defensively. He’s making the plays on the wall, and he’s still bringing all of that elements.’ And hopefully extend plays in the ‘O’ zone, not just get pinned on the wall or turn it over. Try to extend those plays.
“But still, play my game. Go run around and do all that stuff, as well, but do other things, as well. Just try to continue to grow into a really well-rounded hockey player.”
Down a forward after the Kaapo Kakko trade just before the NHL’s roster freeze for the holidays Thursday at 11:59 p.m., the Rangers recalled Rempe for the first time in three-and-a-half weeks.
The 6-foot-8 ½ forward will remain with the Blueshirts through at least the next three games due to the league’s halt on all roster movement, which lifts Dec. 28 at 12:01 a.m.
Going from the Wolf Pack, which had won four of its past six games this month prior to facing Providence on Friday night, to the high-profile mess the Rangers have endured over the same span, Rempe plans to approach this recall the same way he has each one in his short NHL career.
“I want to be myself,” he said. “Bring a lot of energy, bring speed, physicality — just play my game. Bring some youthful energy and try to do the best I can do. Go have fun, play hard, get under the other team’s skin. Try to be a menace. Be good.”
There was an adjustment period for Rempe when he first started in his expanded role with the Wolf Pack.
After going without a single point and finishing at minus-five through the first six games of the season, Rempe said he had to up his conditioning because he wasn’t used to the amount of ice time he was receiving.
Averaging around 18 minutes a night, Rempe feels his game has come a long way in the past month.
Hartford tried Rempe at center for a few games, but the Rangers’ 165th-overall pick in 2020 was ultimately switched back to wing.
He expects to continue to play there because that’s where he’ll likely play with the Rangers.
A point of emphasis from head coach Peter Laviolette to Rempe was improving his play along the walls. The reps and uptick in his confidence have helped him improve in that area, Rempe said.
Now that he’s back with the Rangers, however, Rempe expects his ice time to be more what he’s used to.
This allows him to have so much more energy per shift, he believes, which was what he struggled with most early on in Hartford this season.
“He’s playing really well down there,” Laviolette said of why now was the time to call Rempe back up. “Just being effective at what he’s doing. For us, I think just a change sometimes is good, as well. What we’re doing needs to change, so you try different pieces and different elements at different times. See if that brings anything to the table.”
