WEST Vancouver's Sam Reinhart helped Canada's national under-18 men's hockey team score bronze at the IIHF U18 World Championships held April 12-22 in Brno, Czech Republic.
Reinhart scored a first-period goal in the bronze medal match against Finland in a game that Canada went on to win 5-4 in overtime. Calgary's Hunter Shinkaruk did most of the damage for the Canadians in the third-place showdown, scoring a hat trick, including the game-winner two minutes and five seconds into the overtime period.
The bronze medal ended a three-year medal drought for Canada at the U18 world championships. The United States completed an unbeaten run through the tournament with a convincing 7-0 win over Sweden in the championship final to claim their fourth straight gold medal.
Reinhart ended the tournament with two goals and three assists in seven games. The 16year-old finished fourth in rookie scoring in the Western Hockey League for the 2011-12 season, notching 28 goals and 35 assists for 62 points in 67 games for the Kootenay Ice.
In other Reinhart-related news, Sam's older brother Griffin Reinhart leads a trio of North Shore players into the top-30 for North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings heading into the 2012 NHL draft.
Griffin, a defenceman for the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings, was ranked 10th on the list, released last week in advance of the draft which will be held June 22-23 in Pittsburgh.
North Vancouver's Colton Sissons also cracked the top-15, coming in ranked 14th amongst North American skaters. The Kelowna Rockets centre is the highest-rated WHL forward on the list. North Vancouver's Dalton Thrower rounds out the top-ranked trio. The Saskatoon Blades defenceman comes in at No. 26 on the list.
Rounding out the Reinhart report, oldest brother Max Reinhart made his pro debut with the Abbotsford Heat April 15 and scored a pair of goals in a 5-4 win over the Toronto Marlies. Max, a 2010 draft pick of the Calgary Flames, joined the Heat after finishing off his final junior season with the Kootenay Ice. Max has since appeared in one Calder Cup playoff game, helping the Heat to a 3-0 sweep of the Milwaukee Admirals in their first-round series.
The three Reinhart brothers are the sons of former NHL defenceman Paul Reinhart.
