Minnesota sophomore forward Oliver Moore and sophomore defenseman Sam Rinzel both inked their first professional contracts Saturday and will join the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks via three-year, entry-level deals.
The 19th overall selection in the first round by the Blackhawks in 2023, Moore took to the ice in 77 career games during his two years with the Gophers. He totaled 66 points on 21 goals and 45 assists, while amassing a plus-minus rating of plus-29.
The Mounds View, Minn., native was a Big Ten all-freshman team selection a season ago and twice named a B1G star of the week in his tenure. The center was given Minnesota’s Mike Crupi Most Determined Player Award following the 2023-24 campaign and is the only player in program history to win two gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Moore put together back-to-back 33-point campaigns for the Gophers and had a career-best 12 goals this season, including a stretch of seven goals in 12 outings from Jan. 24-Mar. 8. He also scored both of his power-play goals during that span and closed the season with 13 points in the final 11 appearances. Thanks to seven multi-point outings this year, Moore recorded 16 for his college career with Minnesota winning all 16 contests.
Rinzel was a first-round selection, No. 25 overall, of Chicago in the 2022 NHL Draft before not missing any of 79 career games with the Gophers during his two years on campus.
From his spot along the blue line, he tallied 60 points on 12 goals and 48 assists and was a plus-43 in his career. Rinzel was an all-B1G first team selection this season after landing on the all-B1G second team and all-freshman team as a rookie. He earned a B1G star of the week honor in each of his two seasons and was chosen as Minnesota’s Frank Pond Rookie of the Year.
A product of Chanhassen, Minn., Rinzel had a breakout sophomore campaign, earning Big Ten defensive player accolades thanks to a career-high 10 goals and 32 points in 2024-25. He paced the conference and ranked sixth nationally for points and eighth in goals by a defenseman this year.
Rinzel became a power-play threat this season scoring three times, two of which went down as game-winning goals, and totaled 13 points on the man advantage. Rinzel also put together eight outings with multiple points as a sophomore, including a pair of multi-goal efforts, and closed his tenure with a point in each of his final four appearances.
