Mitchell Jon Reinke (born February 4, 1996) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is currently playing with the

Coachella Valley Firebirds The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey expansion team based in Thousand Palms, California, that began play in the 2022–23 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Seattle Kra ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract with the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He has formerly played with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

in the NHL.

Early life

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. He also has another sister, Kelsey. Upon graduating from Hamline, his father became a masters division world championship boxer.

Playing career

Reinke attended Stillwater High before playing junior hockey with the

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huskies ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL). He committed to play collegiate hockey with

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

of the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(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. 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

on March 26, 2018. 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 The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

on March 31, 2018. 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 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

, the primary affiliate to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. 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.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reinke, Mitch 1996 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Coachella Valley Firebirds players Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players Ice hockey players from Minnesota People from Stillwater, Minnesota Sportspeople from Washington County, Minnesota St. Louis Blues players San Antonio Rampage players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utica Comets players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players