The Chicago Blackhawks farm system remains among the best in the National Hockey League. They have done a great job drafting throughout the rebuild and most outlets reward them with their rankings.
It hasn’t yielded positive results at the NHL level yet, but a lot of the top talent has yet to make its way to the show. They are starting to trickle in, but it will take a lot more than a handful of players to turn this around.
Most of Chicago’s best young talent comes on defense. Some good forwards plan to surround Connor Bedard but the blue line is where the Hawks are strong in the organization.
Alex Vlasic, Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, and Louis Crevier have already started to show their stuff with the Blackhawks in NHL games.
Artyom Levshunov, the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, is also a young defenseman with a high upside. His AHL season started with an injury before he could get going. There have been ups and downs but the high-end talent is there.
One NHL insider, however, thinks that there is another defenseman in the pipeline who is more notable than everyone named.
On ESPN 1000’s “The Hockey Show” hosted by Pat Boyle and Barstool Chief, NHL Insider Frank Seravalli said that Sam Rinzel is the most important defenseman in Chicago’s pipeline.
Rinzel was a first-round (25th overall) pick made by Chicago in the 2022 NHL Draft. Now, he is playing his college hockey at the University of Minnesota and having a great year.
Sam Rinzel can manipulate the puck from the blue line is as good as any young prospect in the world. He has a great shot that can see its way through traffic because of his incredible ability to change angles and confuse the opposition.
After this college season is over, Rinzel is likely to sign his entry-level deal with the Blackhawks after his brilliant NCAA career. That is where he will be able to show what he can do at the next level.
He may spend some time in the AHL next season after making his NHL debut at the end of this year but his ceiling is as high as anyone. If you listen to Seravalli, who has good connections in the league, you’ll believe that Rinzel is going to be incredible.
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