Buffalo Sabres: Where Does Sam Reinhart Fit Among Recent Second Draft Picks?
The Buffalo Sabres’ second-best rookie from last season is off to a sow start. We examine where he fits among recent similar draft picks.
This short lull in the Buffalo Sabres 206-17 schedule has given me some time to think about stuff, and as my track record indicates, that might not be a good thing.
Specifically, I have been thinking – more like worrying – about Sam Reinhart, possibly the player that fans are expecting the most out of now that Jack Eichel has been lost to a high ankle sprain.
Allow me to clarify what I mean when I say that fans are expecting the most out of Sam Reinhart. We already know what we have in players like Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo; namely, players who can produce at least 50 points per season when healthy. Sure, these guys are going to want to step up their game in Eichel’s absence, but since these two are already All-Stars, seeing them among the team’s scoring leaders is expected.
Now that Eichel (and to some extent Evander Kane) has been injured, though, a lot of us are hoping that Reinhart will rise to the occasion and explode in his second season. Whether we base our hopes on the fact that Reinhart will embrace being able to play free of Eichel’s shadow, or whether we simply hope that Samson has a touch of super hero in him, I’m not sure.
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Maybe the answer is a little more straight-forward: since Reinhart was picked second overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, there are expectations placed upon his shoulders for his second full year in the NHL. So far, his stat line of 0-2-2 is not filling people with a lot of hope; even though the Sabres have only played four games, it seems like everyone was expecting Reinhart to come out guns-a-blazing. All of which got me thinking – how does Reinhart compare to some of the most recent forwards who taken 2nd overall in the draft? Our are expectations fair, or have we misjudged Samson?
Let’s take a look! Keep in mind, I am only comparing each player’s official rookie season and second full year in the NHL; a season that was cut short due to injury (anything under 25 games) is not examined in this post.
Recent 2nd Overall NHL Draft Picks Rookie Pts. Second (Full) Year Pts.
2014 Sam Reinhart 42 ?
2013 Aleksander Barkov 24 36
2012 Ryan Murray 21 25
2011 Gabriel Landeskog 52 65
2010 Tyler Seguin 22 67
2007 James van Riemsdyk 35 40
2006 Jordan Staal 42 28
2005 Bobby Ryan 57 64
2004 Evgeni Malkin 85 106
2003 Eric Staal 31 100
2001 Jason Spezza 21 55
2000 Dany Heatley 67 89
Reinhart’s rookie campaign proved to be more successful (offensively) than 6 of the players on this list. Hell, his rookie campaign was even better than the second season of 4 of these guys! Clearly, Samson is not among the likes of Malkin or Heatley, but overall, Reinhart is proving he was more than deserving of being taken 2nd overall. I cannot think of many Sabres fans who would complain if Reinhart became the next Jason Spezza, Bobby Ryan or Tyler Seguin, so hopefully Reinhart finds his groove this week and puts some of our fears to rest.
Next: Sabres Lack Of Top-6 Forwards Needs To Be Addressed
When it comes to the Buffalo Sabres Sam Reinhart, we have a very small sample at our disposal. For all we know, he could explode this season and begin to resemble the 6 players on this list who were good for 60+ points their sophomore season . . . or he could experience the dreaded sophomore slump. Given the fact that his rookie season makes him very comparable to the majority of the most recent 2nd overall picks, however, I think it’s safe to be optimistic about how Reinhart will perform for the team in 2016-17.