New York Rangers center Matt Rempe might be Canadian, but that didn’t stop him from getting fired up while watching his teammate J.T. Miller drop the gloves against his countryman Colton Parayko in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“That was the coolest thing. I wanted to run through a wall,” Rempe told The Athletic. “I wanted to drill my head against a wall. It was awesome.”
Rempe, who has built a reputation as brawler in his first two season in the NHL, told The Athletic that even though he was fired up watching Miller fight, there is no question where his allegiance lies, “I’m watching all the fellas, hope they do good. But I want Canada to win. I want Canada to win big time. One hundred percent.”
J.T. Miller Told Reporters Matt Rempe’s Comments Make Him ‘Pretty Pumped Up’
On February 19, reporters asked Miller if he saw the comments from his teammate, and the Ohio-born forward laughed and said, “I did not, but that’s great. I’ve been around him for a couple weeks now and he is an awesome guy. For him to say that, makes me pretty pumped up.”
Miller, who was drafted by the Rangers in the first round of the 2011 draft, was traded back to New York in January 2025.
The Team USA forward was previously asked by reporters how he felt about the Canadian fans booing “The Star Spangled Banner” before the game against Team Canada.
“I think we like it, not politically, but we just had a sense of, we know where we’re at in Canada, and I think that fires us up more than anything,” Miller told reporters.
The First US-Canada Showdown at the 4 Nations Face Off Started With 3 Fights in 9 Seconds & More Fireworks Could Be Coming in the Championship
The first matchup between Team USA and Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off started with three fights in nine seconds, including Miller’s brawl with Parayko. American Matthew Tkachuk battled Brandon Hagel, while his brother, Brady Tkachuk, fought Sam Bennett.
Miller told The New York Post’s Mollie Walker, “That was pretty fun. That was the coolest experience I’ve probably had on the ice, one of them. To hear the building like that, it’s something you’ll never forget. There’s a lot of bad blood, but at the same time, tons of respect for the other team.”
More fights could be on tap as the two countries square off again on Thursday, February 20, in the championship of the 4 Nations Face-Off at the TD Garden in Boston.
Los Angeles Kings and Team Canada defenseman Drew Doughty told NHL on TNT ahead of the game, “I’ll do anything for my country,” when asked if he would fight Matthew Tkachuk.
After it was reported that Team USA planned the fights at the puck drop in a group chat, Hagel told NHL.com, “We’re out there playing for a flag, not the cameras. We don’t need to initiate anything. We don’t need any group chats going on. We’re going out there playing our game, giving it everything and, like I said, doing it for our country. We’re just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag.”
Matthew Tkachuk responded, according to Boston.com, saying, “Maybe their team doesn’t like each other then if they don’t have group chats. That’s just a player enjoying his opportunity. I think that our team does not care about anything that they say.”
He added, “There’s been a lot of chatter and talk from individuals, but we care about one thing in this room, and we have millions of people that are watching us and supporting us around this country, and we’re very prideful in playing for them and the guys in the room. So it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for us.”
Team USA and Team Canada drop the puck on February 20 at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN and ESPN+ to decide the first-ever 4 Nations champion.
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