If you thought massive New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe was a handful as a rookie last season, former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque told the New York Post that you haven’t seen anything yet.
Laraque and Rempe texted about fighting technique last season but the 6-foot-8 forward took the next step by getting on the ice with the famed hockey pugilist recently for a few days of instruction.
And Laraque is clearly impressed with his pupil.
“Wait til you see,” Laraque told Mollie Walker in a phone interview. “I gave him so much information, so much technique, we practiced so much. I can’t wait for you to see it. I can’t wait. You know, the other thing too is, they know. The whole League knows what he just did. They know he’s not going to be the same.”
Specifically, the 47-year-old was referring to the fact that Rempe was hit far too often in his wild fights last season, particularly early on in fights against Nic Deslauriers or the Philadelphia Flyers and Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Especially for someone as tall as Rempe is, with the long reach he has.
“After [the] Olivier [fight], when it kind of went a bit bad, I was like, ‘OK, I have to reach out to him.’ Because he was so good for the League,” he explained.”
What Laraque saw was a kid just wildly swinging away. There was no technique, no protecting himself, no using his size as an advantage on his way to 71 penalty minutes in 17 regular-season games.
So, the veteran of 159 fights (per hockeyfights.com) and 1,126 penalty minutes in 695 NHL games for four teams spent 90 minutes a day on the ice in an Alberta rink, teaching Rempe how to better defend himself and improve his fighting skills.
“If you look at all my fights, the way that I was, I was very technical. Yes, I was tough, strong, 6-4, but I was technical. I barely got connected,” Laraque explained. “I never got concussions in my career, I never got knocked out, never lost a tooth, never got stitches, never got nothing. Why? Because of technique. It’s not just strength.
“It was technique and he’s taller than me. So now that he has all my technique, all my tricks, at 6-8, who is going to touch him?”
Rangers ‘so, so impressed’ with Matt Rempe’s work ethic, Mollie Walker says
Fighting is just one skillset Rempe is looking to improve this summer. As he tries to earn a more consistent role in the Blueshirts lineup next season, Rempe indicated that he is looking to better himself in every facet of the game. His goal is to be a regular playing 8-12 minutes per game and even earning a role on the penalty kill.
Laraque is a good example for Rempe to follow. Though well known for what he could do with his fists, Laraque lasted 13 seasons in the NHL because he could play the game. A rugged forward, Laraque was a punishing forechecker who was able to contribute 153 points (53 goals, 100 assists) in his career.
That Rempe sought out this meeting with Laraque is sure to be something the Rangers take notice of.
“It looks like he’s having a great offseason and I know that the Rangers are so, so impressed with his work ethic and his drive and his desire to be a better players,” Walker told Forever Blueshirts last week. “I know the Rangers gave him a very aggressive offseason regimen for him to follow.”
Not everyone, though, is impressed with Rempe’s offseason works. Long-time reporter Stan Fischler, The Hockey Maven, wrote that Rempe should focus less on fighting and more on improving his skating.
And even former NHL coach and broadcaster Don Cherry said on a recent podcast, “I don’t think it’s a good idea. The National Hockey League lets on that everything is spontaneous. You don’t train to be a fighter. I don’t think the NHL would be too happy. I think Rempe is setting himself up to be really suspended if he hurts somebody.”
That said, it appears Rempe is intent on improving all aspects of his game, including becoming one of the more feared players in the League.
