Coaches love big, physical guys who can skate and Edstrom is a big, physical guy who can skate. Rempe's just an even bigger physical presence than Edstrom is and I don't think it hurts as far as Laviolette is concerned that he can back that up with his ability to fight.
Anyway what the coaching staff is saying so far is one thing. We've already seen some of Edstrom. He looked real good but against a lot of kids. When preseason starts we should get to see him against better competition and also how much Rempe has improved and that will be something more concrete for us to judge from.
we saw edstrom in the nhl last season. in 2 shifts you saw more from him than Rempe showed in 20 games.
The issue with reducing both of these players to their commonalities: "big, physical guys who can skate...presence" is that it devalues, entirely ignores, their main difference.
The difference is that Edström is a polished and effective hockey player: he understands defensive positioning, he understands transition structure and offensive strategy. He can contribute within the flow of a team while utilizing his natural gifts. He has the swedish savvy to his game. Obviously different players but he brings some of what Jesper Fast has - a heady understanding of the game and ability to be in the right place to snuff out opposing players and help our team break the puck out.
Rempe brings almost none of that. He's just a human wrecking ball, thundering around the ice and to the front of the net. Is there room for that kind of player in todays NHL? Quite possibly! But the equivocating of these 2 players is classic Rongo/Rongite stuff.