Gophers defenseman Sam Rinzel, a Blackhawks first-round pick, emerges as Hobey Baker candidate

Bob Motzko paused, considered the question about Sam Rinzel’s recruitment and answered with a sly smile.

“It was pretty simple. We pretty much knew from the get-go that we were in the driver’s seat,” the Gophers men’s hockey coach said, almost embarrassed at the ease in landing the lanky defenseman. “Thank goodness he picked us.”

Rinzel concurred. “Yeah, it was always a dream, being a Minnesota kid and coming to the games,” the Chanhassen native said.

Chasing that dream is working out well for Rinzel, a sophomore who’s standing out on a roster that features 15 players drafted by NHL teams, including first-rounders in himself and forwards Oliver Moore, Jimmy Snuggerud and Matthew Wood.

As the top-ranked Gophers enter this weekend’s series against No. 3 Michigan State, Rinzel has eight goals and 11 assists, with his 19 points tied for first nationally among defenseman with Denver’s Zeev Buium, the Wild’s first-round draft pick last summer. Rinzel’s goal total also is tied for first among blue-liners.

Lately, Rinzel’s play has thrust his name into conversation about the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey’s top player. In his past six games, the 6-5, 190-pounder has four goals and five assists. Last weekend in the Gophers’ 6-0, 2-0 sweep of No. 6 Michigan, Rinzel had two assists in the opener, then scored a first-period goal and assisted on Snuggerud’s empty-net tally in the finale.

“Everything is kind of flowing well, and I’m playing off instincts,” said Rinzel, the 25th overall selection in the 2022 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. “Just playing my game and going to work.”

College Hockey News has an advanced metric called CHIP (college hockey individual point value), which is similar to wins above replacement (WAR) in baseball. Rinzel’s rating of 33.1 is third nationally and tops among defensemen.

“He’s a year stronger,” Motzko said. “He’s got that long body, and he just knew internally the strength that he put on this offseason. And when he got rewarded right away [with nine points in the season’s first seven games], it put him in a new level of confidence.”

Cal Dietz, who oversees training for Minnesota’s men’s and women’s hockey teams, saw Rinzel make huge strides this summer by turning deficiencies into strengths.

“If you get the weakest links fixed, then the good qualities are going to get better,” Dietz said.

An example: A good summer of improvement in Dietz’s program is an increase in speed in running or skating by 0.4 to 0.6 meters per second. This summer, Rinzel improved by 0.9 to 1 meter per second.

“In two seconds last year, he was covering 18 meters,” Dietz said. “This year, he’s at 20 meters. I don’t have that [type of improvement] very often.”

Others noticed Rinzel’s strength improvement, too. When Rinzel attended the Blackhawks development camp in July, his strength stood out. “I got two texts from the [Chicago] organization: ‘What happened to Rinzel? This is the most difference we’ve ever seen in anybody,’” Dietz said.

From the strength grew confidence.

“That comes with getting bigger, faster, stronger, being able to pull away from guys,” Rinzel said. “… It’s just getting into the weight room, putting your head down and going to work — and eating everything I see. You know it’s not a one-day process.”

Gophers forward Connor Kurth noticed the difference, too.

“He’s just been able to not get pushed around out there, and he’s actually pushing guys around and using his size to his advantage,” Kurth said. “And then when he has the puck, he’s electric.”

Rinzel’s presence as a dependable offensive contributor is a bonus considering he’s a responsible defender, too. He leads the Gophers in ice time at 22 minutes, 43 seconds, has a plus-14 rating and has 13 blocked shots. In a credit to a deep blue line, responsible forwards and the goaltending tandem of Nathan Airey and Liam Souliere, Minnesota is allowing only 1.8 goals per game, which is tied for fifth fewest nationally, and has allowed more than three goals only once this season.

The Gophers’ depth will be challenged against Michigan State. Forwards Erik Påhlsson (shoulder), Wood (Canadian junior camp) and defenseman Cal Thomas (lower-body injury) will miss the series. Forwards Aaron Huglen and August Falloon left the Michigan series because of injuries, and their status this weekend is uncertain, though Motzko said one player might return.

“Battling injuries, whatever it is, I think just every week, we’re trying to learn something new and keep figuring out our team and keep getting better,” Rinzel said. “… We’re hungry, and we’re excited about our team. And yeah, we want to be the hunters and we want to get after it.”

7:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci

TV: BTN on Friday, FOX9-Plus on Saturday

Radio: 103.5-FM both nights

The skinny: The top-ranked Gophers (15-2-1, 8-0-0 Big Ten, 23 points) take on the No. 3 Spartans (12-2-0, 5-1-0, 14 points), who are the reigning Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions. Along with standout scorers in Jimmy Snuggerud (nine goals, 13 assists, 22 points) and Connor Kurth (9-11-20), the Gophers boast a goaltending duo of Nathan Airey, who sports a 9-0-1 record, and Liam Souliere, who has the nation’s best goals-against average (1.37). … Michigan State counters with Trey Augustine, a big-game goalie who led the United States to gold in the 2024 World Junior Championship. Augustine is 10-2-0 with a 1.83 GAA and .934 save percentage this season.