Scouting Report: Sam Reinhart, Kootenay (WHL)

Central Scouting Rank: 3rd

Bio

Stats

Overview:

No one who has paid attention would be the least bit surprised to see intelligent Kootenay Ice center Sam Reinhart, the third best North American prospect according to NHL Central Scouting, taken first overall at the draft.

The 6-foot-1 forward already possesses NHL size and high-end offensive instincts. He also has notable NHL bloodlines - his dad Paul was a high-scoring defenseman in the 1980s, his brother Max plays in the NHL with the Flames organization, and his other older brother Griffin was a top-five pick of the New York Islanders in 2012. It seems probable, however, that Sam will become the highest drafted member of his own talented family on draft day.

While Sam has earned praise for his all around game and commitment to the defensive end of the rink, it's his offensive skill set and production that make him a slam dunk top-three pick. As a first-year draft eligible skater on an okay team - as opposed to a powerhouse like the Portland Winterhawks or the Edmonton Oil Kings - Reinhart was second among all WHL players in points per game (behind only Winnipeg Jets prospect Nicolas Petan).

He can make any shot on the ice and find the back of the net, which explains why Reinhart was 11th among all WHL skaters in goals per game and second among first time draft eligible WHLers in goals (behind only likely top-10 pick Jake Virtanen). It's Reinhart's passing ability that makes him really special though, and his assist rate was unfathomably high this past season.

Reinhart ranked sixth among all CHL players this year in assists per game, behind only Petan, a couple of generational talents in Connor McDavid and Jonathan Drouin, and a couple of overagers in Connor Brown and Marcus Power. In short, Reinhart is the single best playmaking forward - both on the power-play, off of the cycle, or off of the rush - in the 2014 draft. It isn't even all that close, really.

If the Panthers don't select him with the first overall pick, or trade the No. 1 pick to a team with their heart set on Reinhart, it would be something of a surprise to see the Kootenay Ice center slip past the Buffalo Sabres. An intelligent, nearly NHL-ready playmaker would be a major boost for one of the worst offensive teams in recent memory.

Pro Comparison

Patrick Marleau

Scouts are saying

A heady forward, Reinhart scores in bunches and has a lurker's ability to find precious space in scoring positions. He always seems to manage to "slip unnoticed into perfect positions around the crease," as Red Line Report described it after the CHL top prospects game this past February.

"His ability to dictate the tempo of a hockey game, in terms of increasing or decreasing pace and making plays at all those speeds, elevates his game to a distinct level," ESPN prospect expert Corey Pronman wrote of Reinhart in early April.

Sabres general manager Tim Murray, who will be selecting second overall at the draft, was similarly effusive in his praise of Reinhart's passing skills in mid-April, per Cult of Hockey: "He’s the smartest player on the ice every game I see," Murray told Buffalo-area radio station WGR-550. "I don’t know if that says a lot based on him playing guys his own age or a little older than him. But he’s extremely smart, does everything for the most part right, tremendous vision, passes the puck unbelievably well..."

Highlights

Reinhart completely embarrassed this Regina Pats defenseman in January, goodness:

Reinhart versus the best team in the WHL's Eastern Conference. Pretty impressive: