Sam Rinzel

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Photo by: Bjorn Franke

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Position:
Defense
Ht./Wt.:
6-5 / 190
Class:
Sophomore
Shoot/Catch:
R
Hometown:
Chanhassen, Minn.
High School:
Chaska HS
Previous Team:
Waterloo (USHL)
NHL Rights:
Chicago (2022)

PRONUNCIATION

• Signed three-year, entry-level NHL contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 29, 2025
• Made NHL debut March 30, 2025

2024-25 | SOPHOMORE
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
AHCA/CCM Hockey All-America West First Team
All-Big Ten First Team
Big Ten Conference First Star of the Week (Oct. 29)
Academic All-Big Ten
• Skated in all 40 games in his second season at Minnesota and was one of seven Gophers to play every game
• Was the team's top scoring defenseman, finishing with a career-best 32 points on 10 goals and 22 assists
• Led all B1G blue liners in both goals and points, ranking sixth in the NCAA for points and ninth in goals
• Became the first Gophers' defenseman since Mike Vannelli in 2006-07 to score double-digit goals when he buried his 10th of the season in the B1G Quarterfinals versus Notre Dame (Mar. 7)
• Secured a pair of game-winning goals against Notre Dame (Nov. 22) and Michigan (Dec. 7), both of which were scored on the power play
• Finished the campaign with eight multi-point outings and tied a career-high three points versus St. Thomas (Oct. 25) behind the first two-goal game of his career
• Posted another multi-goal effort at Notre Dame (Nov. 22) with both goals coming via the man advantage, his first two power-play tallies as a Gopher
• Ranked second on the team with 13 power-play points, including a team-best 10 assists while on the man advantage, and added a shorthanded assist versus Mercyhurst (Jan. 3)
• Ended the season with 16 points in 24 B1G contests, the sixth-most points ever by a Gopher defenseman and the most by an underclassman blue liner in program history
• Registered a point in the first seven games of the season, extending a career-long point streak to eight games that stretched back to last year's NCAA Tournament
• Put up 20 points in 20 games during the 2024 portion of the schedule
• Closed the campaign with a plus-20 rating thanks to a career-best, plus-5 performance in a home win over St. Thomas (Oct. 25)
• Tallied 41 blocked shots with a season-high five against Ohio State (Jan. 22)
• Gophers owned a 16-6-1 record when he tallied a point and went 6-2-0 when he scored a goal
• Earned second letter

2023-24 | FRESHMAN
All-Big Ten Second Team
Big Ten Conference All-Freshman Team
Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year Finalist
Big Ten Conference Third Star of the Week (Jan. 16)
Minnesota's Frank Pond Rookie of the Year
• Was one of nine Gophers to take the ice in all 39 games during his first season, totaling 28 points on two goals and 26 assists
• Paced the team with 26 assists, which ranked second among all NCAA freshmen defensemen
• Scored his first collegiate goal at Penn State (Dec. 1) and added another against the Nittany Lions during the Big Ten Conference Tournament Quarterfinals (Mar. 8)
• Had a multi-assist effort in his Minnesota debut versus St. Thomas (Oct. 13) and closed the year with seven multi-point performances
• Posted a season-best three assists in three different outings during a four-game stretch between Jan. 8-19 against Colorado College (Jan. 8), Robert Morris (Jan. 12), and Ohio State (Jan. 19)
• Recorded a season-long point streak of five games (Jan. 8-20), totaling 12 assists in that span
• Earned the first Big Ten Conference weekly award of his career when he was named the B1G Third Star of the Week after a four-point weekend against Robert Morris
• Tied for third on the team totaling nine power-play points, all of which were assists
• Led the Gophers behind a plus-23 rating for the year, including a season-best plus-4 in a home win over Colorado College (Jan. 8)
• Finished the year by blocking 48 shots, including a season-high five in a win over Penn State (Mar. 9)
• Gophers owned a 15-1-2 record when he tallied a point and went 2-0-0 when he scored a goal as 27 of his 28 total points came in wins or ties
• Earned first letter

JUNIOR/HIGH SCHOOL
• Spent two seasons in the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks and made 79 appearances
• Tied for second among Waterloo defenseman in scoring during the 2022-23 season, registering 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists)
• Named the USHL Defenseman of the Week (Mar. 6, 2023) thanks to a three-point weekend on the road
• Joined the Black Hawks for 21 games in 2021-22 following his prep campaign and finished with 10 points on two goals and eight assists
• Played in the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game
• Skated at Chaska High School for three seasons, totaling 71 appearances along the blue line
• Served as the Hawks' team captain during the 2021-22 season and was second on the team in scoring, recording 38 points (nine goals, 29 assists) in 27 games
• Tallied eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 19 outings with CHS in 2020-21 as the third-leading scorer
• Made 25 appearances for the Hawks in 2019-20 and recorded nine points (four goals, five assists) and was a teammate of current Gopher Jimmy Snuggerud

INTERNATIONAL
• Appeared in all seven games for Team USA along the blueline, helping win a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship
• Tallied one assist, coming in the victory against Slovakia (Dec. 31)
• Scored a goal in the final pre-tournament game
• Totaled nearly 15 minutes on the ice per contest and was a plus-3 overall
• Recorded five points (one goal, four assists) across six games while helping the U.S. Junior Select Team to a gold medal at the 2022 World Junior A Challenge, playing under the guidance of Head Coach Eric Rud, father of current Gophers' teammate Max Rud
• Appeared in four games as part of the USA U18 team during the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup that placed fifth

PERSONAL
• Son of Pete and Trisha Rinzel
• Has three older siblings; Olivia, Eric, and Jack
• Sister, Olivia, is a women's hockey goaltender at Hamline
• Drafted in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft (25th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks, two spots behind current Gophers' teammate Jimmy Snuggerud
• Ranked as the No. 19 skater in North America by NHL Central Scouting prior to the 2022 draft