If you’re into fantasy hockey and are a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks or not, you will undoubtedly be at least looking across the team and some of the young players. Connor Bedard is the obvious one, and Ryan Donato has some decent value with how well he played last season, but the Blackhawks have a young defenseman who has some high fantasy upside. That being Sam Rinzel.
In later rounds, it is better just to take chances on young players who could break out rather than the boring veterans who will have another average season. Where lots of value comes from is the top power play. At the beginning of the season, only five players from 32 teams (160 players) have the expected opportunity to be on the ice first and for the longest with an extra man on the ice.
While breaking those players down from the rest of the talent on teams in the NHL, then you factor in who is on a top-10 or top-15 power play and take advantage of their opportunities more. Based on last season, the 31st-ranked Blackhawks were ranked 7th on the power play at 24.9%, better than teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, etc.
That means lots of goals are going in and they are counting as power-play points. Almost every top power play has four forwards and one defenseman, so it is even tougher to find value in defensemen late in drafts. Someone on the top power play, playing top minutes, and with the potential of Rinzel has all the green lights to draft or even pick up.
Rinzel averaged 2:24 on the power play in his nine games last season, and in 21 minutes of ice time on the power play, recorded three assists. The 21-year-old had five assists in nine games and that is going to continue into this season with the role he will have.
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