Sam Rinzel can build on his "swagger" with the Blackhawks in 2026-27

Sam Rinzel dealt with the rigors that most young defensemen deal with in their rookie season. He spent time with the Rockford IceHogs, but also learned a lot with the Chicago Blackhawks. The former 25th overall pick showed that he is on the right path.

His 2026-27 storyline will be about how he progresses.

Rinzel's rookie season growth

When looking at the Blackhawks' defense, Rinzel is a big piece of it. They drafted him in the first round for the impact he could have. He was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as a Minnesota Gopher in March 2025, which is no small feat. When he joined the Blackhawks that same month, he greatly impressed in nine games, showing a sound defensive game with smart offensive instincts.

Last season had its speed bumps, as he started with the Blackhawks and got sent to Rockford in December. Head coach Jeff Blashill said, "(The) message was one: this is a really hard league if you start to struggle to kind of gain traction, and so go down, get your swagger with the puck back, get put in situations... hopefully, get time on the power play more than he was getting here, and get that swagger with the puck and then continue to improve defensively..."

With Rockford, he had 14 points in 23 games. When he came back to the Blackhawks, Blashill saw the improvement. He said in March, "He's done a good job. I think he went down, got his swagger and confidence back. I think that's probably one of the biggest pieces of it, and with that, he's kind of carried that forward through the majority of these games here.”

Rinzel had 14 points in 54 games, starting the season on the top pair with Alex Vlasic and ending the season on the second pair with Wyatt Kaiser. He is a good skater, and combined with his 6'4",190-pound frame, that can be an asset as the 22 year old develops.

Where Rinzel can impress

I asked Vlasic about playing with Rinzel back in November: "Playing with Rinz is great. He's such a good skater and manages to kind of skate himself out of trouble quite a bit. I think that's the best part of his game- he's got a lot of confidence and swagger with the puck, so it allows him to be free and kind of take pucks up the ice by himself. Break it out by just using his feet and skating. So, he's come a long way so far. And I think his ceiling is extremely high, and he has so much potential still that hasn't been reached yet. So he's got an exciting future."

Notice a pattern? "Swagger" is always a word that is mentioned with Rinzel, and that will be significant for him moving forward. He is skilled with the puck, and he is part of a defense group that has strengths similar to his, including newcomer Bowen Byram. So, he can contribute well to the defense's identity.

The Blackhawks emphasized confidence, but also working on his defensive game, which Blashill described, in part: "...The other side of it was just learning how to just defend better, and those kind of defending principles. We talked about a couple of specific things, and how he goes into making sure no pucks go through him. That's a big part of being a good defenseman. And then just his kind of stick on puck, and stuff like that; body position. So, I think he got better at all that stuff. I think it was a positive thing. And as I said, I thought he came back (and) played real good just before the break. I mean, he's looked good in practice. So, hopefully he can continue that.”

You can see where Rinzel could help on special teams, and how he could develop in a league that really values production from the blue line, as well as on the Blackhawks, who share that same vision.

Rinzel will enter training camp looking to solidify himself further among the Blackhawks' defense core. He could have a season similar to Kaiser's trajectory. Kaiser had his developing year that included both Rockford and the Blackhawks in 2024-25. Then, he translated it into being one of the biggest revelations on the defense last season.

Development among young defensemen is not expected to be perfect, but if Rinzel carries the progress he made and brings the "swagger" he established into 2026-27, he could have himself a successful season.

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