The future of the blue line for the Chicago Blackhawks is as bright as ever despite the team trading away Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. General manager Kyle Davidson has done a good job over the past few drafts bringing in defensemen that have projected well for the team’s future. While many of them are still playing at the amateur level, that will soon change.
A few younger faces that are featured in the future of the team’s defensive core are already at the NHL level. Alex Vlasic earned himself a contract extension a season ago and appears to be a top-pair guy for the foreseeable future. Ethan Del Mastro has benefitted from minutes over the past two weeks and has looked much more confident because of that. He lit the lamp for the first time in his career last Thursday against Las Vegas and he scored again on Monday at home against the Kings.
Nolan Allan and Kevin Korchinski have bounced around between the AHL and Chicago this year. Allan has gotten much more run at the NHL level, but is currently in Rockford. He was a first round pick of the Blackhawks in 2021 and has showed promise when given chances with the big club this season. Korchinski was a top-ten pick in the 2022 draft and it is perceived that he will be a full-time member of the team next season.
Multiple high draft picks have gone toward the blue line over the past handful of seasons, but upgrading the right defenseman slot became a priority as of late. A project prospect of the Blackhawks has turned heads at the collegiate level and will become well known to fans in the near future.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Sam Rinzel compared to Brock Faber
Sam Rinzel was a first round pick of the Blackhawks in the 2022 draft. Taken 25th overall in a trade up for Chicago that also came with veteran goaltender Petr Mrazek, the youngster was seen as a developmental piece at the time. Things are going well for him at the collegiate level and insiders are taking notice. Frank Seravalli of the DFO Rundown Podcast had high praise for Rinzel.
“They (Chicago) have elite pieces in their pipeline,” Seravalli said. “Sam Rinzel, I think, is the next Brock Faber.”
Anytime someone is put in the same sentence as Brock Faber, it’s worth paying attention to. Faber is 22-years-old and like Rinzel, played his college hockey at Minnesota. The current Minnesota Wild defenseman played for Team USA in the Four Nations tournament and is seen as one of the brightest young players in the NHL today.
Rinzel is currently in the running for the Hobey Baker award, given to the best collegiate hockey player in the country every single year. He has posted nine goals and 18 assists in 36 games while having a plus/minus rating of +12.
Chicago Blackhawks fans could see Sam Rinzel very soon
With Rinzel currently in his second season with the Golden Gophers and him making the leap to signing his entry level deal at the end of the year isn’t unheard of. If this comes to fruition it could be very similar to what young forward Frank Nazar did a season ago. Nazar signed with Chicago following his campaign at the University of Michigan with three games to go in the regular season. After playing in those games with the Blackhawks, he began this year down in Rockford before he got called up in December.
Whether Rinzel is with the team to begin next season or not, it appears that the swing that the front office took on him almost three years ago could pay off. Have a right side of him and 2024 number two overall pick Artyom Levshunov is fun thought for fans. Pairing those two with Korchinski and Vlasic would be a recipe for success as the top four blue liners for the teams’ next big playoff run.
New Chicago Blackhawks goaltender makes history in first start with the team
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