Don’t count Chicago Blackhawks rookie defenseman Sam Rinzel among those surprised by his play in the first few weeks of his NHL career.
“I wouldn’t say surprised,” Rinzel said recently. “I always knew I had the abilities to do it, whether I was skating in the summer back in that four-on-four league in Minny with some pro guys. I wouldn’t say surprised.”
OK, maybe not surprised, but reassuring?
“I would say a little bit reassuring knowing that I keep doing me and obviously there’s a learning curve of just learning how to defend guys, keeping in a notebook of what different guys to do,” Rinzel said. “So that’s kind of a learning curve, I’d say. Obviously, everyone is big.”
Rinzel may have expected this out of him, but there are plenty of others, including people in the organization, who didn’t think he’d have this type of impact so early. He’s played 20-plus minutes in all six of his games. He played a career-high 24:54 on Thursday. He’s playing on the top pairing with Alex Vlasic. He’s running the top power-play unit.
Those are decisions resulting from his play. One of the things that has really stood out so far is how he senses the game. He feels where the pressure is coming from and understands what he can do and sometimes what he has to do. It’s something as simple as this retrieval where he’s reading the forechecking and knowing where his outlets are.
There is sensing something and then also reacting quickly. It’s that combination that could make Rinzel special. Not everyone can do this.
Or this:
Or this:
And especially this:
Rinzel’s game hasn’t been perfect. As good as he looked from the above clips Thursday, he had a few miscues that nearly led to goals. Some of them were later in periods or later in the game, so that may have to do with physical and mental fatigue. That is one adjustment young players learn to make as they start playing more minutes in the NHL.
Overall, though, the Blackhawks and Rinzel have to be ecstatic about his start.
There appears to be a growing possibility the Blackhawks won’t sign forward prospect Dominic James, a 2022 sixth-round draft pick.
The Blackhawks have offered James an entry-level contract that would begin next season and an amateur tryout agreement with the Rockford IceHogs for the remainder of the season. James hasn’t taken that offer so far.
James, who finished his senior season at Duluth recently, could become an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t sign with the Blackhawks by Aug. 15.
The Blackhawks are expected to present forward prospect Aidan Thompson, a 2022 third-round pick, with the same contract options as James.
Thompson’s season ended with Denver in the Frozen Four semifinals on Thursday. His decision could come soon.
If the Blackhawks decide to hire someone other than Anders Sörensen as their next head coach, the general thought among league sources is that they will have to commit a substantial amount of years and money to lure any head coach candidate who may have other suitors.
That type of contract is likely a guaranteed four-year deal and somewhere around $3 million or more. Anyone considering the Blackhawks will be looking for some guarantees, knowing that it could be a few years before the team starts turning the corner.
Anton Frondell is expected to be among the forwards the Blackhawks will consider with their early pick in the 2026 draft. Frondell happens to play with Marcus Krüger on Djurgården in Sweden, and Krüger shared his thoughts about Frondell.
“I think he’s like the whole package,” Krüger said recently. “He’s big, he can he can skate, he can handle the puck. All that, but also he’s really curious. He asks stuff, he tries stuff. So, yeah, he’s not going to play with me for very long here. You’re going to get a taste of him here.”
What if he was drafted by the Blackhawks?
“That’d be really cool,” Krüger said. “Without knowing much, I think he’d be a good fit there. He’s a forward that is going to be able to do it all here. Maybe in the end, he becomes a center. I don’t know, but he’s going to be a player that can do a little bit of everything and do it really good. I hope the Hawks get a chance to draft him. He’s probably going to be early off the board here. We’ll see how the lottery shakes out and all that.”
The Blackhawks are nearly locked into 31st place in the standings with 56 points and three games remaining. They can’t catch the 30th-place team, the Nashville Predators, and are unlikely to be caught by the 32nd-placed team, the San Jose Sharks, who have 51 points with four games remaining
If the standings remain, the Blackhawks would enter the draft lottery in the same position as last year. They would have a 13.5 percent chance at winning the lottery and couldn’t fall anywhere farther than fourth. Last year, the lottery landed the Blackhawks in their standings spot and they drafted second overall.
For those wondering, the Blackhawks did not “win” the lottery last year because they didn’t move up in the lottery from their standings position. In 2023, they did move up to No. 1 after finishing in 30th place in the standings.
The Blackhawks have been pleased with defenseman Ethan Del Mastro’s development this season. He’s put himself in the mix for an NHL roster spot next season. Their decision to send him down to Rockford on Friday was likely more about getting him back with the IceHogs for their final push. The Blackhawks have more than enough defensemen on their roster and they’ll want to allow Alec Martinez to play again, too.
Finally, Pat Maroon’s effort to stay onside on this play is worth commendation.
A freeze frame:
(Photo of Sam Rinze: Talia Sprague / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)