Fantasy Hockey Week One Rookie Roundup: Sam Rinzel, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh and More

Hey folks! We are doing a roundup on our rookies that we wrote about just before the season started and check-in on each of them to see how they are doing.

We'll go over their deployment, time on ice (TOI), production, and if the preseason analysts had it right.

Let's keep in mind that these are rookies, and not everyone is going to turn out like Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens, or Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, but let's also hope they don't all turn out like Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken.

Make sure to check out our new Fantasy Hockey Projections. Outlooks at your fingertips that always give you an in-depth snapshot and an accurate outlook of what you expect from every player -  all season long. Powered by AI; refined by our experts.

Maxim Shabanov - New York Islanders

Shabonov is so far just OK for redraft leagues. He has played in both of the Islanders' games in week one, but is only logging third line minutes - averaging just over 11 minutes per game.

Shabanov did manage to put up a point and some shots on goal, he has not had any peripherals as of yet. One positive note is as we suspected he has cemented a spot on the second powerplay unit so is getting some special teams looks. He has every opportunity to develop with somewhat sheltered minutes, and has the potential to move up the lineup as he gains confidence and if he keeps producing.

Shabanov has one goal, zero assists, and zero powerplay points in two games played as a forward. He also has four shots on goal, zero hits, and zero blocked shots.

Zeev Buium - Minnesota Wild

Buium is a tricky call so early. The Wild have won and lost a game and his production does not necessarily translate to what he has been able to do on the ice.

As we predicted, Buium is on the second defensive pairing with captain Jared Spurgeon, and the quarterback of the top powerplay line which include the likes of Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marco Rossi, and Kirill Kaprizov. He has managed to get on the board twice with his spot on the powerplay already.

With this deployment he has been averaging over 22 minutes per game, which is a lot of minutes to eat for such a young defender. His +/- is a dreadful -4, which is currently the worst on the team, but he has been able to put up a couple points. The Wild did lose to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 7-4 defeat which contributes to this stat. 

Zeev has one goal, one assist, and two powerplay points in two games played as a defensemen. He also has five shots on goal, one hit, and three blocked shots.

Alexander Nikishin - Carolina Hurricanes

Nikishin has had a decent showing so far, in both production, and peripheral stats. As predicted, he has started on the third defensive pairing, but the benefit to this is his partner is currently Shayne Gostisbehere.

While he has not cracked the powerplay yet, he is seeing some special teams on the second penalty kill unit, which helps add to his shot blocking. He has a great +/- so far with a +3, which is fantastic for a rookie defenseman.

Nikishin has every opportunity in the world to continue to see success, and even without any powerplay time is adding value with his peripherals and if he continues on this path he will end up being a sleeper pick for redraft leagues, but is already looking like a gem in dynasty leagues.

Nikishin has zero goals, two assists, and zero powerplay points in three games played as a defenseman. He also has three shots on goal, seven hits, and three blocked shots.

Sam Rinzel - Chicago Blackhawks

Rinzel, for being on the Blackhawks which arguably makes his debut harder than it should be, is quietly holding his own. His deployment is elite, for even a veteran. He is seeing top pairing defensive minutes, top powerplay unit minutes, and second penalty kill unit minutes - averaging 23-and-a-half minutes of ice time per game.

While he doesn't have a powerplay point yet, feeding franchise player Connor Bedard makes this only a matter of time. With three games in the show and only -1 for +/- on the roster he is, all analysts agree that Rinzel has been nothing short of impressive so far.

Rinzel has one goal, zero assists and zero powerplay points in three games played as a defensemen. He also has five shots on goal, one hit, and seven blocked shots.

Zayne Parekh - Calgary Flames

To everyone's surprise, it looks like Parekh's poor ending to training camp and preseason has impacted his spot on the Flames' roster. He warmed the bench the first two games, but was given an opportunity to play on the third defensive pairing with Brayden Pachal.

Parekh did get a look on the second powerplay unit, but was unable to capitalize. All signs point to an uphill battle to not only get special teams opportunities, but to maintain a full spot on the main roster.

Parekh has seen big decreases to rostered rates after high expectations came crashing back down to earth after training camp and preseason showings proved he might have been a big fish in a small pond coming into the NHL, but will need to develop further to keep pace with the veterans in the league.

All things considered, Parekh will come into his own and should absolutely be a target in dynasty leagues, and should still be worth the wait as he paddles through troubled waters to find his game in the show.

Parekh has zero goals, zero assists, and zero powerplay points in one game as a defenseman. He also has two shots on goal, zero hits, and one blocked shot.

Jimmy Snuggerud - St. Louis Blues

Snuggerud has also seen his projections and expectations tempered as well. While the Blues have struggled, these struggles have added to Snuggerud's deployment.  He has averaged just over 13 minutes per game, playing over 16 in the first game, and down to 10 in game two.

He was supposed to start on the top line, but has since found himself on the third line, although he is still getting looks on the top powerplay line with Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas, who he should have been playing with on the top forward line.

He is at least contributing some peripheral stats, and only has a +/- of -1 which is not awful, all things considered.

Snuggerud's deployment will depend less on his own play, and more the team's overall performance and the trust in the forward core able to handle some risk.

Snuggerud has zero goals, one assist, and one powerplay point in two games played as a forward. He also has three shots on goal, two hits, and two blocked shots.