Sabres select Sam Reinhart with 2nd overall pick in NHL Draft

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On Friday night, the Buffalo Sabres made Kootenay Ice center Sam Reinhart the second overall selection at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Reinhart becomes the third Reinhart brother to be selected at the NHL draft in recent years. His brother Griffin Reinhart was selected in the top-five by the New York Islanders in 2012, and his other brother Max Reinhart was a mid-round pick of the Calgary Flames a few years before that.

The skilled centerman was 11th among all WHL skaters in goals per game, and 2nd among first time draft eligible WHLers (behind only likely top-10 pick Jake Virtanen). It's Reinhart's passing ability that makes him really special and his assist rate was unfathomably high this past season. 

Among all CHL players this year, Reinhart ranked sixth in assists per game. The only palyers who were better than him either played on the juggernaut Portland Winterhawks (Nicholas Petain), profile as generational-level talents (Connor McDavid and Jonathan Drouin), or are several years older than Reinhart is (Connor Brown and Marcus Power). 

Put simply Reinhart is the single best playmaking forward - both on the power-play, off of the cycle, or off of the rush - in the 2014 NHL draft, and it isn't even all that close. With his high skill level and NHL-ready frame, Reinhart could instantly provide Team X's offense with a major boost.