Eliteprospects
USA Sam Rinzel
#6 Rockford IceHogs / AHL - 25/26
1-time WJAC-19 Gold Medal 1
1-time U20 WJC Gold Medal 1
1-time NCAA (West) First All-American Team 1
Date of Birth
Jun 25, 2004
Position
D
Age
21
Height
6'4" / 193 cm
Place of Birth
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Weight
194 lbs / 88 kg
Nation
USA
Shoots
R
Youth Team
Chaska Chanhassen YHA
Contract
26/27
Cap Hit
$941,667 Powered by
NHL Rights
Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Blackhawks / Signed
Drafted
2022 round 1 #25 overall by Chicago Blackhawks
Agency
PREMIUM

A projectable, top-arm flared release, combined with synced weight-transfer and an immense amount of downforce, Rinzel has all the mechanics to be a shooting force on the blue line. Combine that with angle-changing inward drags, high placements, and a penchant to eat up available space, all while pushing free range activations, the dominance that permeated across his game created significant intrigue across the Elite Prospects scouting team. -EliteProspects 2022 NHL Draft Guide

Brother: Jack Rinzel

© Photo: Dan Hickling

Use/Embed statistics

Sam Rinzel Statistics

S Team League GP G A TP PIM +/-   POST GP G A TP PIM +/-
2018-19 Chaska/Chanhassen Bantam AA 14U AA -* -* -* -* -* -* |
MN Lakers 14U AAA MNHP 14U 16* 3* 8* 11* 2* -* |
2019-20 Chaska High USHS-MN 25* 4* 5* 9* 8* -* | Playoffs 3 0 0 0 0 -
Minnesota Blizzard 15U AAA 15U AAA -* -* -* -* -* -* |
2020-21 Chaska High USHS-MN 19* 8* 17* 25* 12* -* |
Minnesota Blizzard 16U AAA 16U AAA -* -* -* -* -* -* |
2021-22 Chaska High USHS-MN 27* 9* 29* 38* 22* -* |
Team SIT Financial Services UMHSEHL 18* 4* 12* 16* 12* -* | Playoffs 3 0 3 3 2 -
Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 21* 2* 8* 10* 8* -2* | Playoffs 6 0 0 0 4 -1
2022-23 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 58* 9* 27* 36* 36* 14* | Playoffs 3 1 2 3 2 -3
2023-24 Univ. of Minnesota NCAA 39* 2* 26* 28* 20* 23* |
USA U20 WJC-20 7* 0* 1* 1* 2* 3* |
2024-25 Univ. of Minnesota NCAA 40* 10* 22* 32* 12* 20* |
Chicago Blackhawks NHL 9* 0* 5* 5* 0* 1* |
2025-26 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 28* 1* 7* 8* 28* 0* |
Rockford IceHogs AHL 5* 0* 7* 7* 6* -1* |
Projected AHL 48* 0* 67* 67* 58* -10* |
2023-24 NHL stats powered by NHL.com

Sam Rinzel Tournament Statistics

S Team League GP G A TP PIM +/-   POST GP G A TP PIM +/-
2018-19 Northstar Elite U15 WSI U15 5* 0* 1* 1* 0* -* |
B14 - District 6 MNHP-14 3* 0* 0* 0* -* -* |
2019-20 B15 - District 6 MNHP-15 3* 1* 2* 3* -* -* |
2021-22 B17 - Section 2 MNHP 3* 1* 3* 4* -* -* |
B17 - Red (Final 54) MNHP 3* 1* 0* 1* -* -* |
Team Forest USA-S17 4* 0* 0* 0* 10* -* |
USA U18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup 4* 0* 0* 0* 2* 2* |
2022-23 USA U19 WJAC-19 6* 1* 4* 5* 0* -* |

Sam Rinzel Career Totals

League Years GP G A TP PPG PIM +/- | Years GP G A TP PPG PIM +/-
14U AA 1 -* -* -* -* -* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
15U AAA 1 -* -* -* -* -* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
16U AAA 1 -* -* -* -* -* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
AHL 1 5* 0* 7* 7* 1.40* 6* -1* | 0 * * * * * *
Hlinka Gretzky Cup 1 4* 0* 0* 0* 0.00* 2* 2* | 0 * * * * * *
MNHP 1 6* 2* 3* 5* 0.83* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
MNHP 14U 1 16* 3* 8* 11* 0.69* 2* -* | 0 * * * * * *
MNHP-14 1 3* 0* 0* 0* 0.00* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
MNHP-15 1 3* 1* 2* 3* 1.00* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
NCAA 2 79* 12* 48* 60* 0.76* 32* 43* | 0 * * * * * *
NHL 2 37* 1* 12* 13* 0.35* 28* 1* | 0 * * * * * *
UMHSEHL 1 18* 4* 12* 16* 0.89* 12* -* | 1 3 0 * 3 * 3 * 1.00 * 2 * - *
USA-S17 1 4* 0* 0* 0* 0.00* 10* -* | 0 * * * * * *
USHL 2 79* 11* 35* 46* 0.58* 44* 12* | 2 9 1 * 2 * 3 * 0.33 * 6 * -4 *
USHS-MN 3 71* 21* 51* 72* 1.01* 42* -* | 1 3 0 * 0 * 0 * 0.00 * 0 * - *
WJAC-19 1 6* 1* 4* 5* 0.83* 0* -* | 0 * * * * * *
WJC-20 1 7* 0* 1* 1* 0.14* 2* 3* | 0 * * * * * *
WSI U15 1 5* 0* 1* 1* 0.20* 0* -* | 0 * * * * * *

Sam Rinzel Career Highlights

Season
Awards by season
Transactions
DATE STATUS FROM TO SOURCE
12/08/2025
12/08/2025 Up/Down Chicago Blackhawks Rockford IceHogs
03/29/2025
03/29/2025 Confirmed Univ. of Minnesota Chicago Blackhawks
08/13/2021
08/13/2021 Confirmed Chaska High Univ. of Minnesota
Player Biography and Trivia

Drafted 2021, 2 #18 overall by Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL Entry Draft

2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #32 by Elite Prospects

2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #62 by FCHockey

2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #37 by TSN/Craig Button

2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #28 by McKeen's Hockey

2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #31 by TSN/McKenzie

2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #19 by NHL Central Scouting

Invited to NHL Scouting Combine -- 2022