Mitchell Jon Reinke (born February 4, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing under contract with the Eisbären Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has formerly played with the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Mitch Reinke
Reinke with the Eisbären Berlin in 2024
Born (1996-02-04) February 4, 1996 (age 28)
Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
DEL team
Former teams
Eisbären Berlin
St. Louis Blues
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Early life

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Reinke was born on February 4, 1996, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to parents Chris and Mickie Reinke. He came from an athletic family as his father played hockey at Hamline University and his sister played soccer at the University of Minnesota.[1] He also has another sister, Kelsey.[2] Upon graduating from Hamline, his father became a masters division world championship boxer.[3]

Playing career

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Reinke attended Stillwater High before playing junior hockey with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League (USHL).[3]

He committed to play collegiate hockey with Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). In his freshman season in 2016–17 season, Reinke developed a scoring touch and sound defensive game with 20 points in 41 games to earn a selection to the WCHA All-Rookie Team.[1]

In the following 2017–18 season, Reinke notched a new career high with 24 points in 35 games before opting to end his collegiate career after his sophomore year in signing as an Undrafted free agent to a two-year, entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues on March 26, 2018.[4] Reinke was immediately added to the Blues roster and made his NHL debut with the Blues in a 6–0 defeat to the Arizona Coyotes on March 31, 2018.[5]

After spending his first three full professional seasons within the Blues organization, Reinke was not tendered a qualifying offer to be released as a free agent. On September 2, 2021, he was signed to a one-year contract to continue in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the primary affiliate to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[6]

Following two productive seasons within the Penguins organization, Reinke was rewarded with an NHL contract as a free agent, in signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Seattle Kraken on September 2, 2023.[7]

Having played his first seven professional seasons in North America, Reinke opted to pursue a European career at the conclusion of his contract with the Kraken, signing a one-year deal with German club, Eisbären Berlin of the DEL, on July 16, 2024.[8]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Stillwater High USHS 21 2 10 12 0 2 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Stillwater High USHS 23 3 11 14 8 2 0 1 1 0
2013–14 Stillwater High USHS 23 5 14 19 12 3 0 0 0 2
2014–15 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 55 2 19 21 10 3 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 56 5 25 30 22 5 1 1 2 6
2016–17 Michigan Tech WCHA 41 6 14 20 20
2017–18 Michigan Tech WCHA 35 3 21 24 31
2017–18 St. Louis Blues NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2018–19 San Antonio Rampage AHL 76 12 33 45 20
2019–20 San Antonio Rampage AHL 46 5 17 22 20
2020–21 Utica Comets AHL 18 2 10 12 2
2020–21 St. Louis Blues NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 63 3 24 27 6 6 0 3 3 2
2022–23 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 52 1 26 27 8
2023–24 Coachella Valley Firebirds AHL 25 1 4 5 12
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors

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Award Year
USHL
All-Rookie Second Team 2015
College
WCHA All-Rookie Team 2016–17[9]
All-WCHA Third Team 2017–18[10]
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2018–19[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mitch Reinke". michigantechhuskies.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  2. ^ "A dream deferred". presspubs.com. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Johnson, Jeff (26 November 2014). "Reinke grows into next hockey challenge". The Gazettte. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Blues sign three players to entry-level contracts". St. Louis Blues. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Blues shutout by Coyotes". National Hockey League. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Penguins sign defenseman Mitch Reinke". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Welcome to the deep!". Twitter. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Eisbären Berlin sign defenseman Mitch Reinke" (in German). Eisbären Berlin. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Awards - NCAA (WCHA) Rookie All-Star Team". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  10. ^ "WCHA announces 2017-18 All-WCHA Teams". uscho.com. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  11. ^ "2018-19 American Hockey League All-Rookie Team Named". OurSports Central. 10 April 2019.
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