Sam Rinzel's offensive upside will make him the Blackhawks' best defenseman in 2025-2026

Sam Rinzel began his 2024-2025 season as a sophomore in college at the University of Minnesota. He played 40 games with the Golden Gophers and finished with 10 goals and 22 assists. He was the team's top scoring defenseman and finished the year on the All-Big Ten First Team and as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. The Blackhawks then signed Rinzel to a three-year, entry-level contract and then made his debut the next night.

Rinzel played nine games with the Hawks and accumulated five assists over those games. He averaged over 23 minutes of ice time a night and played on the top pair with Alex Vlasic. He looked very comfortable from the first time his skates hit the ice which earned him time on the power play and the penalty kill.

Could Rinzel take over for Seth Jones?

Looking forward to the 2025-2026 season, Rinzel figures to play a major role in the Blackhawks' defense. According to Daily Faceoff and other projections, he is slotted to be on the top pair with Vlasic. Rinzel will be filling the void left by Seth Jones. Vlasic and Rinzel will make a good pairing as Vlasic is more defensively-minded, allowing Rinzel to expand his offensive game, which is his biggest strength.

Head coach Jeff Blashill has the opportunity to let these kids grow on the same pairing and keep them together for all 82 games. This definitely would not have been the case with past coaches, Luke Richardson and Anders Sorenson. Vlasic and Rinzel seemed to have good chemistry from the few games they played last year, but they now have the chance to grow together this year and hopefully the next seven to eight years.

Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, and Kevin Korchinski have the highest offensive upside of all of the young Blackhawks defenseman. Levshunov and Rinzel will begin to state their cases for major minutes on the team at this week's Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. While Levshunov has a very high ceiling for his offensive ability, Rinzel has shown in his limited sample size to be more defensively aware.

Rinzel will stand taller (literally) than the other defenseman on special teams.

The power play may be where Rinzel has the biggest impact on this team. Three of his five assists last year came on the power play. At some point last year, Jones, Vlasic, Korchinski, and Rinzel all quarterbacked the top power play unit. Rinzel looked extremely comfortable skating the puck into the zone and it was refreshing not watching him drop the puck to nobody on every single entry. He also showed a willingness to shoot, which was an issue for all Blackhawks last year.

Rinzel will also see time on the penalty kill. While other Blackhawks defensemen may see more minutes on the penalty kill, a top pairing defenseman will still see some minutes while shorthanded. This is where we have seen (and will continue to see) Rinzel utilize his size and strength. His size allows him to have the reach to poke check as well as move bodies out of the crease. As he continues to play more and gain more confidence, I believe we will see him use his size as a greater tool in his game.

My projected stats for Rinzel for the 2025-2026 season: 9 goals, 34 assists, (plus/minus is dumb), 24 penalty minutes, and 22:45 average time on ice.