Former NHL Enforcer John Scott Is Worried For Matt Rempe

New York Rangers rookie forward Matt Rempe is all the rage right now in the NHL, but he got some words of caution and advice from longtime NHL enforcer and All-Star John Scott on Wednesday.

After becoming the first player to make his NHL debut in an outdoor game at the Stadium Series in a 6-5 Rangers win over the New York Islanders, Rempe scored his first NHL goal and went toe-to-toe with arguably the toughest enforcer in the NHL, Philadelphia Flyers enforcer, Nicolas Deslauriers.

The Rangers then faced the Blue Jackets in Columbus the next day, and as expected, Blue Jackets scrapper Mathieu Olivier sought out Rempe, and Olivier gave it to the dumbfounded rookie.

John Scott has been watching the 21-year-old Rempe’s rapid rise to cult hero in New York and around the NHL. He’s happy for a new member to the enf0rcer brethren but is worried about him as well. On Monday he reached out and gave some words of advice.

“Yeah, it’s funny how the internet works,” Scott replied when asked what he said to Matt Rempe on the latest Eye Test Podcast.

“We’ve been messaging back and forth now, me and Matt, and he’s a cool kid. He was just really down to earth, and I just told him not to get caught up in the noise. I was in New York when ‘Linsanity’ happened, so I know how New York gets when they just grab hold of something, and they’re just like a dog on a bone. He seems to understand it’s exciting; it will go away, but embrace it, have fun with it, but just focus on hockey.”

Right now, Scott, who does his own podcast, Dropping The Gloves, doesn’t believe the young Rempe is ready to be doing this on an almost nightly basis.

“So, I was just talking to him about that and giving him a few tips on fighting – I’m obviously tall, and he’s a big guy – and I don’t think he’s doing it well right now, I think he’s relying on just his aggressiveness and size,” Scott said. “He could be a force out there if he really did learn how to fight the correct way. As crazy as that sounds, there is a right way to do it, and I don’t think he’s doing it right now. If he keeps doing it the way he’s doing it, he will have a short career because he’ll get knocked out a couple of times, and that will be the end of his career.”

Scott went on to explain how he could relate to what Rempi is going through from his own experience coming into the NHL, but what he couldn’t, and what cohost couldn’t relate to, was how Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette facilitated the expected Rempi-Olivier bout.

“Why would you expose your player to that if you’re a coach?” McGuire asked Scott.

“I agree with you; he put him in a bad spot,” Scott replied.

“He should’ve. …I know you have first change, and you have to wrestle with that a little bit. I would’ve told him not to fight. Don’t say yes. There’s no need to. Before the game, just say Matt, your hand’s busted up. I know you battled last night; don’t fight, just say no. There’s no bad thing about saying no, and I’ve had coaches tell me that, too.”

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