West Vancouver native Sam Reinhart's sterling season got even shinier last week when the Western Hockey League named the Kootenay Ice captain the league's Player of the Year and the Most Sportsmanlike Player.
The 18-year-old centre scored 36 goals and notched 69 assists for 105 points in just 60 games, registering a +24 rating while picking up only 11 penalty minutes in the process. Reinhart finished tied for fourth in the WHL in points despite playing the fewest games of any of the top-10 players. His 69 assists established a new record for the team as the Ice finished fifth in the league's Eastern Conference.
The numbers confirm Reinhart's value to the team — he scored or assisted 45 per cent of the team's goals and was held off the score sheet only nine times with the Ice losing each of those nine games. He also put together a league best 22-game point streak.
"Being named player of the year is a huge honour and a direct reflection of my team, my teammates and the opportunity I was given," Reinhart told Postmedia News. "Coming into this year, consistency was a big focus of mine and I think that was a big asset of my game this year. With the sportsmanlike award, I've always taken pride in playing the right way and being smart. I always felt you can get a couple of more shifts in a game if you're not in the penalty box."
Winning the WHL's Player of the Year award also made Reinhart the league's nominee for CHL Player of the Year, which will be presented at the 2014 Canadian Hockey League Awards during the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup in London, Ont., later this month.
Reinhart, a former Hollyburn Husky, suited up for Team Canada at the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championships where the team finished fourth. In the WHL playoffs Reinhart helped the Ice knock off the Calgary Hitmen four games to two in the opening round before losing a heartbreaking seven game series against the Medicine Hat Tigers. He scored six goals and added 17 assists for 23 points in 13 playoff games.
Reinhart is eligible for this year's NHL entry draft and is expected to be a very high pick — he was rated as the No. 3 prospect in NHL Central Scouting's final list of the top North American skaters eligible for the draft.
Sam is the youngest member of a royal hockey family headed by father Paul Reinhart who played 11 seasons in the NHL with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. Sam's older brother Max is in the Calgary organization and has seen action with the Flames while middle brother Griffin was picked fourth overall by the New York Islanders in 2012. Griffin is currently finishing off his junior career with a bang, battling with his Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL final against the Portland Winterhawks.
