Rempe makes history for Rangers in Stadium Series

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Matt Rempe made NHL history on Sunday.

The New York Rangers rookie forward became the first player to make his League debut in an outdoor game.

"That would be unreal, a [heck] of a story," Rempe said Friday. "It would be unbelievable."

Rempe was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Friday to replace Blake Wheeler on the Rangers roster for their game against the New York Islanders in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Wheeler suffered a season-ending lower-body injury in a 7-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Rempe, a sixth-round pick (No. 165) by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft, took rushes as the right wing on the fourth line with center Barclay Goodrow and left wing Adam Edstrom in practice at MetLife Stadium on Friday.

"I think I'd handle it well," Rempe said. "I play a hard, physical game that runs on adrenaline. I think I'm going to be juiced up to the max, so I think I'm going to be buzzing out there. It'd be unreal. How can you not be going with all the fans and outdoors? This is pure hockey."

Rempe was also recalled Feb. 10. He skated in warmups before New York's game against the Calgary Flames at Madison Square Garden on Monday, even taking his rookie lap at the urging of captain Jacob Trouba, but was a healthy scratch.

"I said it to someone in the locker room earlier, that would be a pretty sick first game, Stadium Series and Rangers-Islanders," forward Jimmy Vesey, who will take Wheeler's spot on New York's first line said. "We'll see what happens. If he's in, the only thing I'll probably say is it's probably the coolest NHL debut I've seen so far."

Rempe, a towering presence listed at 6-foot-7 and 241 pounds, has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 43 games with Hartford this season.

"He's improved a lot," Laviolette said. "He's been playing a lot of center ice recently. He can play the wing, win face-offs. Physical, taking on more minutes and more responsibility in Hartford. Certainly, his size and his presence out there is also part of it, but he's really worked on his game. Great kid, smiling ear to ear and looking for an opportunity to play, so we'll see where that goes."

Rempe knew immediately where the Rangers' next game would be when he got the call to come back to New York on Friday.

"Oh yeah, I knew what it was, and I phoned my family right away and I said, 'It's an outdoor game, that would be pretty [darn] cool,'" Rempe said. "Oh yeah, I knew it was an outdoor game."

Rempe's mother, Janice, and sisters Stephanie and Alexandra flew in from Calgary on Saturday to be here for the game Sunday.

"This is pretty unbelievable," Rempe said. "Unreal week, dream come true. So excited."