Meet Sheldon Rempal, The Capitals' Dark Horse With A Chip On His Shoulder & Nothing To Lose
Sheldon Rempal, who signed a two-way deal with the Capitals this summer, goes 1-on-1 about his underdog journey and hopes to make the NHL.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Sheldon Rempal loves a good underdog story — and this isn’t the first time he’s starred in one.
Rempal didn’t get into the lineup until halfway through the preseason, but made noise in his debut, dominating with seven shots and forcing his way onto the first line to force the coaching staff’s hand late in the game.
Now, he’s a dark horse for the Washington Capitals, remaining in the thick of a heavy forward competition with two games left to go and teams needing to have their rosters set and cut to 23 by 5 p.m. on Monday.
“I’m running out of chances to make an opening night roster, so just trying to seize the day every day and just hope for the best,” Rempal said matter-of-factly.
The 30-year-old has come close time and time again. He spent six years mainly in the AHL, getting a handful of NHL games here and there, showing flashes of the wicked offense he can provide on a nightly basis. However, it wasn’t enough to earn a permanent NHL spot, so last year, he went to the KHL for a change.
Rempal thrived overseas, picking up 31 goals and 30 assists with UFA Salavat Yulayev. His standout season put him back on the radar, and when he hit free agency this summer, he believed Washington was a destination with the most opportunity and signed a one-year, two-way deal early in the offense.
“I was trying to figure out what the best fit was for me to try to make the big club,” Rempal said. “I know there’s some good opportunity here and a good group.”
The biggest attribute of Rempal’s game is his offensive instinct. He gets to the open space, has good speed and ultimately a knack for the high-danger scoring areas, and he’ll do just about anything to get there. Then, when does he gets time and space: look out.
“I’m a guy that can score and produce offense, so that’s what I need to do,” Rempal said. “I’m not going to hold anything back.”
His biggest attribute, he says, is his tenacity.
“I just try to be the most competitive guy out there. I don’t like to lose… if I do, I try to find another gear and win,” Rempal said.
Rempal will suit up again for the Capitals on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, a pivotal game where several hopefuls like Andrew Cristall, Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ethen Frank are also suiting up and trying to show Carbery what they can do.
For Rempal, though, he’s not putting extra stress on himself.
After all, he wasn’t expected to necessarily come into camp and make noise. Now that he has, it’s just about continuing to find that consistency down the stretch.
“There’s no pressure on a guy like me,” Rempal said. “I can just go out (and play), and I don’t know if there’s any big expectations for me or anything. That takes a lot of pressure off myself just go out and prove everybody wrong every day like I’ve been doing kind of my whole life.”