He may have been scratched in the regular-season opener and played less than four minutes in his season debut, but New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe is as popular as ever.
Rempe-Mania was running wild at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, when the towering 22-year-old received a thunderous ovation from the sold-out crowd during pregame player introductions at the Rangers home opener. Perhaps only star goalie Igor Shesterkin received louder applause.
Not bad for a sixth-round draft pick who took the big city by storm last season with his willingness to fight and unbridled joy for playing professional hockey. Even if he’s only played 18 regular-season games to date, Rangers fans love and have embraced Rempe.
And they’re sure to love this.
Rempe now stars in a commercial for Body Armor, a hydrating sports drink.
Set in an office, Rempe plays, well, Rempe, but as a temp worker. He delivers his lines in deadpan fashion, and is a natural for this funny commercial spot.
It’s hard to decide if Rempe blowing up the copy machine with a (presumed) punch or two, or sinking deep into his desk chair to avoid a staff meeting in a conference room named the “Penalty Box” is funnier. But it’s clear Rempe is a natural in the commercial.
Matt Rempe achieves goal, cracking Rangers roster out of training camp
As for his day job, Rempe played seven shifts in New York’s 6-5 overtime loss to the UTAH Hockey Club on Saturday, barely breaking a sweat in his first game played this season. The 6-foot-9 forward stayed out of the fray when linemates Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom got into separate fights midway through the second period.
That was another sign of Rempe’s growing maturity. Rempe understood that if he dropped the gloves, he’d be thrown out of the game for fighting after another had already started. That’s what happened to Edstrom, who received a game misconduct for fighting after Carrick’s bout was already underway.
After much hype about his offseason training regime, which included workouts with Rangers teammates Chris Kreider, fighting lessons with former NHL heavyweight Georges Laraque and living with veteran goalie Jonathan Quick and his family, Rempe had a so-so training camp and preseason. He was a healthy scratch in favor of Jonny Brodzinski, who had an assist on Carrick’s goal in a 6-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“You always want to play, but I think that I was happy to make the team,” Rempe told the New York Post on Friday. “That was the goal going into camp. I just take it as a day to get better. Just get good skills work in that day you aren’t playing, watch the game, learn, watch your position — that type of stuff.
“Obviously, you want to play every game, but I’m 22 – a lot to learn, a lot to learn. A lot of time to improve. It’s alright.”
That sounds like a kid with his head screwed on straight. No matter how popular he is nor how big a big a star he’s becoming off the ice.
