Rempe’s summer begins with a 38-hour drive to Calgary.
And Matt Rempe is hopeful that when he returns to New York for training camp he will be a more complete player, ready to be in the lineup every night and play consistent minutes.
“I want to contribute more,” Rempe said Tuesday while his right eye was swollen from an infection the day the Rangers disbanded. “I want to be a guy that can play eight to 12 minutes every night.”
“I want to get really good defensively. Ultimately, I want to be a penalty killer, but I have to work at it. I want to improve my skating, my skill set, my playing with the puck, my passing, every part of the game. I want to improve my fighting. I want to become a man, and I really enjoy the fighting part of the game. I want to keep working at it, get stronger, get fitter, get more mobile. I have a lot of work to do.”
Rempe’s winter was in the public eye, with the Garden crowd cheering loudly for every shift and every hit.
The 21-year-old has become something of a phenomenon, appearing in 28 games, including the postseason.
Rempe’s friends joke that his newfound fame will get him free beer in his hometown.
But Rempe’s summer will be a quiet one.
“Just hanging out, staying home, living with my mom,” Rempe said. “It’s going to be a great summer. Me and my friends have our summer plans planned. We’ve signed up for Pilates classes. It’s going to be a great summer.”
“It’s exciting just to go home and hang out. It’s been a really busy time. It’s been a tough three months, but I’m looking forward to getting back on the road.” [Wednesday] And just processing it all. It’s good to go on the road and process it all and I’m excited to come back. I know what to do and I’m excited.”
Rempe came out of nowhere this season, but will enter training camp with the expectation that he can join the team and make an impact.
His matches will no doubt continue to be talked about, but Rempe should be more than just a caricature or a sideshow — assuming he actually plays, there should be a reason for it.
“I want to win,” he said. “I want to get better every day, show the steps I take and win more next year.”
Rempe’s Winter had some of the elements of a fever dream.
Rempe’s summer is about making all of this a permanent reality.
