Matt Rempe

Matthew Rempe ( ; born June 29, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He was drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL entry draft. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall, Rempe is one of the tallest players ever to play in the NHL.

Playing career

Junior Rempe was not drafted in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft and started his junior career with the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) after being the final cut in training camp of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Rempe made the Thunderbirds the following year and despite an injury that forced him to miss the first 15 games of the season, he posted 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 47 games for the 2019–20 season. After the season he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL entry draft with the 165th overall pick.

Professional Rempe was invited to the Rangers' training camp prior to the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons and during the 2022 camp he showed his physicality by fighting Wade Allison of the Philadelphia Flyers during scrimmages. He said "I don't know how many guys are there from last year, but I bet they'll remember me. I'm just going to go do the same thing I did [last year], play hard and physical and try to score some goals." Rangers' coach Peter Laviolette said: There's a lot of things that I love about Matt. You saw what he did the other night...Somebody punches one of his teammates in the head and he reacts, and that was a really positive thing for him and what he did for the team. But there's more to it than that. Not all guys that play that type of role can finish check and hit, and he can do that. He's very physical. He's still just a really young kid, but he's an enormous man. And he's only going to get stronger and better. After scoring eight goals through February 11, 2024, at Hartford, he was recalled to the Rangers.

Rempe played his first NHL game against the New York Islanders on February 18, as part of the 2024 NHL Stadium Series, making him the first player to start his NHL career with an outdoor game. It was also the sixth anniversary of his father's death.

On February 22, in Rempe's third NHL game, he received a match penalty 13 seconds into his first shift for an illegal hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Nathan Bastian. Rempe scored his first NHL goal the following game in a 2–1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. In his fifth NHL game, he recorded his first NHL assist and had his fourth fight. On March 11, Rempe received the second match penalty of his ten-game career for elbowing Devils' defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler, who was injured on the play. Following a league hearing, Rempe was suspended for four games. Rempe had five fights in his first seven games, but then only one more fight the rest of the season. On April 21, he scored a goal in his first NHL playoff game against the Washington Capitals, making him the tenth Rangers rookie to do so since Matt Gilroy accomplished the feat in 2011.

During the 2024–25 season for the Rangers, Rempe was ejected for the fourth time in his career on December 20 with only 22 games played in the NHL. The ejection came as a result of a hit from behind on Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen that drove Heiskanen's face and head into the glass. Rempe received a five-minute major penalty for elbowing on the play along with the game misconduct. After a supplementary discipline hearing on December 22, the league suspended Rempe for eight games, the longest such suspension it had imposed since 2018.

Rempe's frequency for fighting other players has led many in the media to label him an enforcer, despite enforcers no longer being common in the NHL.

Rempe was involved in a controversial incident during a game against the Nashville Predators on March 2, 2025, where he delivered a high elbow to defenseman Nick Blankenburg. This led to a fight with Andreas Englund. Despite his prior suspensions for similar offenses, the NHL Department of Player Safety reviewed the play and decided not to impose additional discipline. Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette commented on the incident, acknowledging Rempe's physical style of play but emphasizing the "need to stay within the rules."

On June 18, 2025, the Associated Press reported Rempe signed a two-year, $1.95 million contract extension with the Rangers. Rempe missed most of the 2025-26 season after breaking his thumb in a fight with Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks on 23 October 2025. He missed about 2 months after the injury, and then did return to the Rangers' lineup for 12 games before shutting down because the lingering impact of the injury reduced his effectiveness.

Personal life Rempe has two older twin sisters, Alley and Stephanie, who both played ice hockey for Brown University. His father, Ron, passed away in 2018.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2018–19 Spruce Grove Saints AJHL 43 4 8 12 32 8 0 1 1 0 2019–20 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 47 12 19 31 53 — — — — — 2020–21 Spruce Grove Saints AJHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2020–21 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 8 1 4 5 12 — — — — — 2021–22 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 56 17 6 23 93 24 8 4 12 10 2022–23 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 53 6 4 10 87 — — — — — 2023–24 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 43 8 4 12 96 — — — — — 2023–24 New York Rangers NHL 17 1 1 2 71 11 1 0 1 10 2024–25 New York Rangers NHL 42 3 5 8 67 — — — — — 2024–25 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 18 3 2 5 22 — — — — — 2025–26 New York Rangers NHL 26 1 0 1 11 — — — — —NHL totals 85 5 6 11 149 11 1 0 1 10