The Fastest Evolution In NHL History; Matt Rempe, From Nobody To Fighter To Power Forward

Matt Rempe has gone from an American Hockey League Nobody to a New York Ranger call-up, and now -- a power forward?

Seriously -- and I do mean SERIOUSLY -- You could not make this up.

No National Hockey League player in memory has enjoyed this amazing metamorphosis.

None.

Matt Rempe has gone from an American Hockey League Nobody (noodnick, maybe) to a New York Ranger call-up.

All we knew about him was that he was very tall; a human steeple.

Overnight -- or should I should I say at night at MetLife Stadium -- he became a somebody by fighting the Islanders Matt Martin. Almost everybody among 79,000 onlookers suddenly liked The Steeple On Skates.

Then he became a black-eyed losing fighter but his burgeoning fanbase loved him just the same.

But always, there was the expectation that his Boss, Chris Drury, would dump him at the deadline and we'd be searching for another Looney Tune.

So, here's the catch, The Remper still is a Rangers but -- again overnight -- he's become a regular.

And not only that -- The Maven kids you not -- this immigrant from Calgary has the MAKINGS OF A GENUINE POWER FORWARD. And not just an up-and-down Table Hockey chump.

And one who can score -- he missed by inches only last game versus St. Lou -- like a Cam Neely (sorta) when Cam was breaking in long long ago.

No dummy this Remp; he knows that few dare mess with a giant (6-8.5, 240 pounds) and the entrances to enemy creases are more open to him than normal human players.

As one scout put it after the 4-0 win over the Blues: "He's proving that he's more than a goon or exchanger of fists. He missed scoring by a hairline. He's just beginning but, right now, he's looking like he could be a power forward."

What's more he's appealing to all strata of fans.

Fair enough. But what mostly matters to Drury is whether The Steeple really can score and maybe even become a genuine power forward, a la Ye Olde Neely.

No matter; what a story this is! Really, almost too fast to believe.

REM-PE! REM-PE! REM-PE!