For Sam Rinzel, honing his game a little more before he heads to the University of Minnesota in 2023-24 is his main focus.
So the defenseman, selected no. 25 by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2022 NHL Draft, will play this season with Waterloo of the USHL, where he played some last season.
“Doing that, taking that one extra year in juniors will for sure help me develop,” Rinzel said July 11. “I think I’ll be able to make a huge impact in juniors. In Minnesota, there’s a lot of guys coming back on defense. I think I’ll be able to jump in and make a good impact.”
Rinzel (6-foot-4, 177 pounds) had 38 points (nine goals, 29 assists) in 27 games with Chaska High School in Minnesota and 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 21 games with Waterloo last season. The Blackhawks hope Rinzel makes an impact for them in future seasons and they liked what they saw in the 18-year-old at their development camp last month.
“He looks like a tall, lanky kind of guy when he’s off the ice, but when he gets on the ice, he has great footwork, speed and skating,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said on July 15.
“He has lots to work on but that’s something you can recognize. I think that was a real good steal in the draft for us.”
Waterloo coach Matt Smaby said Rinzel had to adjust from high school to USHL hockey, but his talent helped get him there.
“Obviously you can’t teach size, so the frame he has is pretty unique,” Smaby said. “What makes it more unique is the skill set he’s got. His skating is outstanding and his puck play, puck skills are good. That combination of tools that he has makes him a different and totally unique prospect. Going through the process, talking to NHL teams, one of the questions is who’s a comparable player? To me, it’s almost tough to think of someone who I can compare him to because of size and skill set.”
And honing that skill set with another season at Waterloo should benefit Rinzel more.
“The USHL season is a grind,” Smaby said. “Our calendar overlaps with the NHL season, you play less games, but it’s a grind to get through. So, the amount of practice time is beneficial, and all the games are really competitive.
“The fun and frustrating part of USHL is any team can win on any given night, depending on who and what shows up. The competition level is really high, consistent, it’ll be a great thing for Sam to get a bunch of experience, practice time.”
Rinzel said going through the draft and then development camp was “kind of eye opening for me.” It’s been a whirlwind, but now he’s focused on the next step.
“Obviously, a big key for me is to get stronger,” he said. “There are a lot of big guys out here, obviously, so working on filling out my frame, little things like that, and working on details of my game, for sure.”
.