Chicago Blackhawks prospect Sam Rinzel to be top producing defenseman in NCAA

His freshman year in Minnesota was outstanding as he had won gold with the US squad in world juniors, he had one goal in 16 assists for 17 points in 20 games for the Gophers who almost went to the Frozen Four.

According to eliteprospects.com, the 20-year-old defenseman who stands at six foot 4 and 190 lbs was drafted in the 2022 entry draft, first round 25th overall. This choice the Blackhawks acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs after the Leafs were attempting to dump goaltender Petr Mrazek's salary which led to acquiring the draft pick.

The site also recognizes that he could be a shooting force on the blue line and an anchor on a power play as he uses his speed and his size to gain space to shoot the puck cleanly.

He played 39 games for the University last year, scoring two goals with 26 assists for 28 points with 20 penalty minutes and was a + 23.

The Blackhawks defence core has been deepening over the past couple of drafts as the team holds many prominent defensemen including Kevin Korchinski, Alex Vlasic, Ethan Del Mastro, Wyatt Kaiser, Nolan Allan and recently drafted 2nd overall pick Artyomn Levshunov.

The Blackhawks construction is very exciting and promising in terms of competitiveness as these young stars continue to develop and will likely be on the roster within the next few years.

Source: Eliteprospects.com

Source: Bleachernation.com