Portland Winterhawks' Mike Johnston believes Rangers rookie "can have a substantial career"
I've known (and respected) Mike Johnston for the many years he's coached the Western Hockey League's Portland Winterhawks, which he has run like an NHL team.
Year-in and year-out, the Hawks have been a dominant major junior franchise and this season is no exception.
Having dominated their first two playoff series — eight straight wins — they now face a most challenging opponent: the Prince George Cougars. The best-of-seven series begins Saturday night in Prince George, B.C.
"In our last two games there," Johnston said, "they beat us 2-1 and then we beat them by the same score. Both teams are very good. They have some high-end players and are well-balanced throughout their lineup.
"Having said that, I should add that our guys have played great hockey down the stretch. This series is going to come down to a pair of good teams battling it out."
Distant as it may be, Johnston does figure tangentially into the non-stop stories about the latest New York phenomenon, Rangers rookie Matt Rempe.
As the Winterhawks coach, Mike coached against Rempe when he skated for the Seattle Thunderbirds. With that in mind, I submitted six questions to Johnston related to Rempe's early development in the WHL (My thanks to David Kolb for suggesting the idea of contacting Johnston about Rempe).
I have categorized them by subject. His insightful answers follow:
On Rempe's time in the WHL
"The first year I saw Matt I was obviously impressed with his size and hands. He moved around the ice well but didn't have a lot of power in his stride. Unfortunately after a very good rookie year our next season was interrupted by COVID so I really didn't see him for a full year He was drafted I presume because of his size and potential. But it wasn't until the 21-22 season that you could see he was taking a step physically and impacting the game in a number of ways."
On knowing Rempe was NHL calibre
"The first year I did but after that I wasn't sure. Seattle had a very good team in its final year and although he battled a few injuries, I didn't see a big step in his overall game"
On where Rempe has improved
"He definitely plays with more pace and if you have a guy on your team who can get in on the forecheck wth that size it is a bonus."
On how Rempe can improve
"I always felt he could be impactful on the power play, as a net-front guy. I also felt that if he worked at that part of his game it would give him an opportunity to get more ice time."
On Rempe's ceiling
"If he continues to be a physical force and works on his agility, I believe that he can have a substantial career. He brings a unique skill set; there are not many players in the league like him."
On Rempe's physicality
"After the COVID break it was interesting to see players in the league try to handle him physically. I remember clearly the first time we played Seattle that year and our players coming off after warm-up and every guy was talking about him. He just ran over guys. You can imagine coming into the league as a 16 or 17-year-old and facing off against him. Welcome to junior hockey!"