Inside Scott Wheeler’s Bold 2022 NHL Draft Shake-Up: Which Stars Rise and Fall?

9. Buffalo Sabres: RHD Sam Rinzel

Actual draft pick: No. 25 (change: +16) to Chicago 
My final ranking: No. 52 (change: +43)

There are some who would probably argue that it’s a little overzealous to slot Rinzel ahead of two players in Kasper and Kulich, who just had really solid full rookie seasons in the NHL, and his former University or Minnesota teammate Jimmy Snuggerud, who has a deeper pedigree and was immediately really good for the Blues in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the spring. But I think the excitement around what Rinzel showed in college over his last year and a half there and in the NHL himself in the spring is warranted. He’s a 6-foot-4 D with all of the pieces of the puzzle, and they’ve come together for him really quickly — passing Kevin Korchinski and, in the eyes of some, Artyom Levshunov, in a blink. I saw the raw outlines at the time but erred on the side of caution re: the work that needed to be done and how unproven he was. The Blackhawks took a swing, and it has paid off.

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