Knights legend Rob Schremp discusses winning, friendships, and his continuous impact on the game
As far as London Knights legends go, Rob Schremp‘s name is high on the list. When it comes to his impact on the game of hockey, he’s far from finished.
The OHL great relived some of his greatest hockey memories when he joined associate GM Rob Simpson for a live Q&A on the team’s Instagram account (@LondonKnights) last week.
Drafted first overall to the Mississauga IceDogs in 2002, Schremp was traded to the Knights early in his sophomore season and went on to impress with sky-high numbers that memorably included a 57-goal, 145-point showing over a 57-game 2005-06 campaign. From there, the Edmonton Oilers draft pick embarked on a 12-year professional career with stops in the AHL, NHL and in Europe.
The 34-year-old, who recently decided to pick up the stick again in Latvia where he’s settled with his wife and three-year-old daughter, spoke highly of the many great moments surrounding his three seasons in London, including the club’s historic 2004-05 run and eventual Memorial Cup championship.
“One thing with London was that the winning culture was awesome but the locker room was also amazing,” said Schremp.
Some of those standout memories include playing alongside Danny Richmond, watching Trailer Park Boys with his good friend Ryan McDonald and spending a lot of time with Trevor Kell, who he singled out as one of the most underrated players he shared the ice with back in the day.
“The diversity in his game was unbelievable. He was an unbelievable shutdown guy and the discipline he played with in the championship season was really good. The next year, he wound up being a pretty good goal-scorer for us and then the last year I was there, he was one of our best defencemen,” he remembered.
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“He had such a deepness to our game that went under the radar and was such an impact player. It was guys like that that really made our championship team whole. We had some pretty good stars but guys like Trevor were like the glue and helped us solidify the PK and the checking game. Shutting Crosby down in the final game…he was part of that.”
As Schremp mentioned, the Knights housed many star players during that iconic run. Among them, of course, was 2004-05 OHL leading scorer Corey Perry, who made his time in London all the more unforgettable.
“When I got there, he was a good player and then we lost that year to Guelph. Perry came back the next year unbelievable. It was night and day,” he recalled. “He was a pure, dominant player. He was scoring goals, taking control of the game and was the best player in the league by far. It was a cool transition to be a part of.”
“For that championship season, he was driving the bus. We had a lot of great players who did a lot of great things that year but Pers was for sure the leader. And it was fun to be around him,” he continued. “He takes it real seriously, he’s competitive as hell and he does whatever it takes to win. The guy’s won just about everything there is to win in hockey and it was awesome to be around him for two years.”
That Memorial Cup season was a unique one, Schremp remembers, because of the sellout crowds the Knights would draw around the league. He remembers well those visits to the Aud to square off with the rival Kitchener Rangers.
And of course he’ll never forget being a part of the championship parade days after hoisting the Cup on home ice.
“It turned out that almost the whole city showed up. We didn’t realize it was going to be that big, but it was awesome. We loved having the fan support and having the city get behind us in such a big way that day really stuck out,” he said.
Though he hasn’t been able to make as many trips to London in recent years, Schremp discussed going back to visit his billet families in the summer on a consistent basis and touching base with an old billet brother in current Oshawa Generals forward Brett Harrison, who is eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft.
“Brett’s an amazing kid. He’s a winner, he’s competitive, but he’s the most humble kid you’ll meet. All this that’s going on for him, I’m really excited for him,” he said. “It’s really cool because they’re such hockey nuts, and so passionate about the game. To have Brett have a chance to climb this ladder and have a chance to play in the best league in the world is great, but also for [his father] Tim. I know he’s super proud.”
? Todays’ @44_VisionHockey ? video breakdown with @RobSchremp focuses on how to gain an advantage on goalies through shot selection. ?Watch and listen?to the vid for the full breakdown! pic.twitter.com/c0T9a18h40
— 44_VisionHockey (@44_VisionHockey) January 23, 2021
The Knights graduate touched on a variety of topics around his decorated career including his move to Canada from New York as a kid, his 2004 NHL Draft experience, and his eventual transition to European hockey. He wrapped up the discussion by speaking to one of his newest passion projects in 44 Vision Hockey, an innovative video coaching platform he built out to help players improve on their game.
For Schremp, it’s a way to give back from his own experiences and continue to have an impact on the game in a number of ways.
“When I thought about my career, a lot of the video was about systems and mistakes, and now I think about it on an individual basis, it’s about helping these players take advantage of those mistakes and how to execute and help them have that confidence when they have the puck. We’re in the background helping players get better on an individual basis and it helps the coaches team out, too,” he finished.
“A big passion of mine is helping the women’s team grow. We have some great women’s coaches ut there, some Olympic team members with great knowledge and great experience. I built it out and want to have a big impact on the game and give back from my experience, having played in all the big leagues in the world: NHL, AHL, KHL, SHL. I saw the game, got a good education from the game. I get almost as much enjoyment as going bar down as I do in showing them how to do it.”
Click here to watch Schremp’s Q&A on Instagram.