Imposing New York Rangers rookie Matt Rempe has become a cult hero with his fists and his size

On his very first shift in the NHL, Matt Rempe dropped the gloves and fought veteran Matt Martin. Since then, he has taken photos with adoring fans at a Cheesecake Factory and has had his name printed on custom T-shirts and chanted at Madison Square Garden, whether he is in the game or not.

Rempemania is in full bloom for the New York Rangers and their 6-foot-8, 241-pound rookie, who has become something of a hero. This is almost solely due to his five fights in his first two months on the job, including the central role in an unusual 5-on-5 line brawl and a four-game suspension for a hit to the head. He

Rempe

is just 21.

Rempe’s popularity underscores the NHL’s complicated relationship with fighting. Tough guys and fighting both have faded in the league amid concerns about safety and an increased emphasis on skillful play, but it is clear fans — a lot of them — love the brawls just as much now as they did during the bloodand-broken teeth days of decades past.

Rempe, then, is something like a warm memory, at least for now. He will quickly need to figure out how to balance pugilism and physicality with playing well enough to stay on the ice for the Stanley Cup-contending Rangers this season — and beyond.

“What happened the first two, three, four weeks of his career up there is not long-term sustainability,” said Dixon Ward, who coached Rempe as a teenager in Okanagan, British Columbia, and a veteran of 599 NHL games. “You’ve got to establish yourself and then you’ve got to pick your spots, but you have also have to show that you can play. And the only way you can show you can actually play is to stay in the game.”

Rempe has skated 84 minutes on the ice, spent 69 in the penalty box or the locker room, and recorded one goal and one assist since the Rangers called him up in February. Still, his jersey was featured in the front window of the NHL Store in New York, and “We want Rempe! We want Rempe!” is a familiar refrain from Rangers fans if their team is losing or being pushed around.