Through seven games, Sam Rinzel’s season has not gone the way the Blackhawks probably drew it up.
The 22-year-old was supposed to step into a top-pair role and make a real jump this year, especially with a contract year looming before restricted free agency. Instead, the former 25th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has found himself sliding to the third pairing, even while keeping his second power-play job.
The reason is easy to spot: the puck has been a problem.
Against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (Oct. 15), Rinzel coughed it up seven times, the most in the game and the highest total in the league across the 11 contests played that night. Jeff Blashill surely noticed, and Chicago will be looking to make sure that sort of night does not happen again.
That performance was not some one-off blip either. Rinzel is tied for third in the league with 16 giveaways, and 10 of them have come in the defensive zone. That’s second-worst on the Blackhawks, trailing only Artyom Levshunov, who has 12 giveaways, including 11 in Chicago’s end.
Both young defensemen are being leaned on heavily, and both have been burned when things go sideways with the puck in dangerous spots.
The numbers also look a lot different from last season. Rinzel finished with 67 giveaways in 54 games a year ago, which came out to 4.07 per 60 minutes.
This season, that rate has jumped to 7.68 per 60 minutes. It’s still a small sample, and one rough game can push those numbers around, but it’s a sharp rise all the same.
There have been a few bright spots. Rinzel’s even-strength goal differential sits at minus-two, which is among the better marks on the team. That at least suggests he has been able to limit the damage some of the time, even when the puck management gets messy.
And with his contract situation hanging over the season, every stretch matters a little more. A strong year would strengthen his hand. A slow one could drag it down.
The issues in Chicago’s own end go well beyond Rinzel, though. The Blackhawks have given up 32 goals in their first eight games, an average of four per night, and the back end has been far more exposed than it was a year ago.
Chicago was expected to look better defensively after adding Bowen Byram, who came over from the Buffalo Sabres for the fourth overall pick in this past draft. So far, the results have not moved much in the right direction.
That kind of start naturally opens the door to bigger questions, including whether Chicago needs a coaching change on the defensive side to settle things down. Right now, defense looks like the team’s biggest problem.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Have A Kevin Korchinski Decision Fans Cant Ignore
With the Blackhawks set to play their ninth game against the Dallas Stars, the focus has shifted to the young players trying to carve out bigger roles early in the season. Roman Kantserov has found a groove with three goals in his last three games, and Connor Bedards recent return has helped stabilize the lineup after his absence. For a club still sorting out its identity, every spot on the roster feels open to competition, and that includes the blue line.
Kevin Korchinski is one of the more intriguing names in that mix, even if his season has been slow to get moving. The defenseman has been in the lineup only once, and Jeff Blashill has made it clear that the path back is tied to Korchinski staying ready and keeping his practice habits sharp. The larger question is when that next chance comes, and how the Blackhawks choose to balance development with the urgency of getting their best young pieces on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Just Got A Reminder Of The Gap They Still Face
The Blackhawks had built a little momentum with two straight wins, but Saturday at the United Center was a reminder of how far they still have to go against a top-tier opponent. Dallas handled the game from the start, got goals from Jason Robertson, Arttu Hyry and Roope Hintz, and left Chicago with a 4-0 victory behind Jake Oettingers shutout.
Chicago never found a way to crack the Stars structure or make the night uncomfortable for Oettinger, and the scoreline reflected the difference in finish and depth between the two teams. The loss ended the Blackhawks modest streak and pushed the focus back to the bigger challenge of turning brief progress into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Prospect Vaclav Nestrasil Is Forcing A Bigger Right Wing Conversation
Vclav Nestrail keeps giving the Blackhawks a reason to keep one eye on Amherst. The Chicago prospect, taken in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, turned in another encouraging showing for the University of Massachusetts with a two-goal night, another reminder that his game is not just built for highlight clips but for the sort of responsibility teams crave from a young right winger.
For Chicago, the bigger question is less about whether Nestrail is part of the future and more about how soon that future can start to press into the present. He is viewed as a promising two-way winger, and the path to the NHL will depend on how his college season unfolds and how the Blackhawks roster evolves around him. If the development keeps trending up, the conversation around right wing could get a lot more crowded in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]