Rob Schremp

Lore & Background

Schremp grew up in Fulton, New York, and played in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a team from Rochester. He moved to Canada for his major junior career, spending his rookie season with the Mississauga IceDogs, where he was named OHL rookie of the year for 2002–03 after recording 26 goals and 74 points in 65 games. Early in the 2003–04 season, he was traded to the London Knights, with whom he won the Memorial Cup in 2005 and led the OHL in scoring the following season with 57 goals and 145 points in 57 games. He also represented the United States at the 2005 and 2006 World Junior Championships, finishing fourth both times.

Drafted by Edmonton in 2004, Schremp made his NHL debut in April 2007 but struggled to secure a permanent roster spot, spending most of his time with AHL affiliates. He was claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders in September 2009 and scored his first NHL goal on December 12, 2009, against the Boston Bruins. He played 44 games for the Islanders in 2009–10 and 45 games in 2010–11 before being claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Thrashers in February 2011. After the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, he became an unrestricted free agent and moved to Europe.

Schremp played for Modo Hockey in Sweden, Dinamo Riga in the KHL, Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, EV Zug in Switzerland, Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the KHL, Skellefteå AIK in Sweden, the Portland Pirates in the AHL, the SCL Tigers in Switzerland, and the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in Germany. He announced his retirement in November 2018 but returned to professional hockey in August 2020, signing with HK Mogo of the Latvian Hockey Higher League.

Reader's Guide

Rob Schremp's career illustrates the trajectory of a highly skilled junior player who never fully translated his prolific scoring into a long-term NHL role. His OHL dominance—leading the league in scoring with 145 points in 57 games and winning a Memorial Cup—marked him as a top prospect, but he could not secure a permanent spot with the Oilers, Islanders, or Thrashers, totaling 63 NHL games.

After leaving North America, he became a journeyman in Europe, playing for nine clubs across Sweden, the KHL, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Latvia, often finding offensive success. His post-playing career includes roles as director of hockey operations for the China Hockey Group and lead of business development for an agricultural biotech company, showing a transition into hockey administration and business. Schremp's path reflects the challenges of a first-round pick who excelled in junior but faced limited NHL opportunity, yet continued his career abroad and later moved into off-ice roles.