On this day 15 years ago Rob Schremp scored one of the most impressive goals in NY Islanders history

The skill of many of the young players entering the NHL today is incredible. The ability to lift the puck with their stick in nearly any situation and their creativity has brought a new dynamic to the game.

Hand-eye coordination has always been a necessary piece of any successful player's toolkit, but on this day in 2010, NY Islanders’ winger Rob Schremp took that to another level. 

It was John Tavares’ rookie season, just a few months after the Islanders finished as the league's worst team. The Isles headed into Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche sitting one game below .500. 

Incredible skill from Schremp

With under three minutes remaining in the second period knotted up at a goal a piece, Frans Nielsen slapped a shot from the top of the circle that was saved by goaltender Craig Anderson. Schremp, who was to the right of the goal, caught the puck with his right hand, dropped the puck to a point just below the goal post, and batted the puck out of the air into the goal. 

“I batted it with my hand and I got a nice touch on it and it just seemsed to levitate in the air,” Schremp said while on Hockey Night in New York in July 2023. “I’m kind of like ‘screw it, take a swing at it.’ And once I made contact I had a good feeling it was going in.”

Schremp was drafted 25th overall in the 2004 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. In the 2005-06 season, his final in the OHL, Schremp finished with 145 points (57 G, 88 A) in 57 games for the London Knights. 

He played just seven games in three seasons for the Oilers before being placed on waivers and claimed by the Islanders before the start of the 2009-10 season. Schremp played 89 games with the Islanders over two seasons, accumulating 47 points (17 G, 30 A), before being placed on waivers in 2011. 

Schremp’s time in the NHL wasn’t what he hoped it would become after such a successful career in juniors, but he still has one of the most incredible goals in Islanders history.