Hockey Guy: New York Rangers' Matt Rempe Made His NHL Debut At The Stadium Series And Got Into A Fight Before His First Shift Started
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.Matt Rempe might just go down as the best pick of the Rangers' 2020 draft. He's a good ol' boy from Calgary and was selected in the 6th round of that draft. He's been playing the past couple of seasons with the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL, and finally got the call up to make his NHL debut today with the Rangers.
The thing about the Rangers' schedule is that they're playing against the Islanders today at MetLife Stadium in the Stadium Series. So Matt Rempe got to make NHL history today as the first player to ever make his debut in an outdoor game.
That's got to be a great moment for the kid. Getting a chance to play in front of 70,000 in your first taste of NHL experience. But it probably has to be a little nerve wracking, too. This ain't some throwaway game against 5,000 college kids in Arizona. You're playing in a nationally televised game in front of the biggest crowd of the year.
So how does a kid from Calgary calm his nerves? Easy. Just start punching someone in the face.
A minute thirty into the game. His first NHL shift and he drops the gloves with Matt Martin before the puck even drops. He might be the first player in NHL history to have 5 penalty minutes before having even a single second of TOI.
What a legend. What a way to make your first impression in this league. The nerds can try to get fighting out of the game as much as possible. but you'll never get moments like this out of the game. Because this right here is hockey. Always has been, always will be.