Matt Rempe knew training in New York for the 2024-25 season was the best move for him.
But the end of the offseason was made even more rewarding when teammate Jonathan Quick invited the 22-year-old to his home.
The 6-foot-8-and-a-half-inch forward was the biggest kid in the Quick household this summer.
Quick's actual youngest son, Cash, tries to fight him every day.
And Cash headbutted Rempe recently after Rempe taught Cash some of the moves he learned from former enforcer Georges Laraque earlier this summer.
“I thought, 'This is cool,'” Rempe said with a beaming smile after completing an on-ice test in Tarrytown on Thursday. “It's a lot of fun. Just going out and catching frogs. I'm not very good at catching frogs, they scare me a little bit, but it's a lot of fun.”
Jonathan said his wife of 15 years, Jacqueline Quick, was like a second mother to him.
Quicks quickly won over the Rangers last season with his team-first mentality and efforts to foster camaraderie by organizing team parties and dinners.
Rempe has been immersed in that environment for some time, in addition to training with both Quick and Chris Kreider.
If Rempe joins the team out of training camp (which is likely unless training camp is awful), the Calgary native will continue to play for the Quicks.
“Guy's won three Stanley Cups,” Rempe said of what he's gained from living with the 38-year-old goaltender. “He's a great coach and an incredible player. He's knowledgeable, he's learning every day and he does what he has to do. He coaches me.”
“He's going to be a Hall of Famer. It's a great opportunity for me to learn from him and his family and be comfortable with his kids.”
The spotlight never went away for Rempe, who exchanged blows with Islanders guard Matt Martin in his NHL debut at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 18.
It followed him throughout the offseason, during which he trained with Laraque for three days in Edmonton.
Rempe said she has been power skating daily for the past two months with Kreider and skills and performance coach Christian Humura.
“My balance on my skates is a lot better,” Rempe said of his improvements. “I think my stride is a lot better. My speed is better. My edge work, my agility, all those things have improved. I've worked a lot on single edge work, skating, balance. As for my hands, I've worked a lot on stick handling to protect the puck low and make plays. I'm looking forward to showing that off.”
On day one he did.
Rempe skated at 8 a.m. Thursday with the first group, which consisted mainly of prospects who had not yet completed on-ice testing.
Rempe was included in that camp as he skated with the main group during unofficial sessions and did not attend rookie camp.
Rempe looked much more flexible than last season and took first place in the sprint by a considerable margin.
While some of the other players were clearly exhausted, he looked healthy and strong.
It's a promising sign for Rempe, and he's expected to join the main group on Thursday.
“I really liked what Matt did last year,” Laviolette said when asked if Rempe still had to make the roster or if he'd played enough games last year to make a decision. “I don't think it's fair to just decide if a guy's in or out when there are guys trying to make the team.”
“When you have young guys here, and the young guys that played some games for us last year, they're working their way up to get on the team, just like the other guys that were there today.”
