RoughRiders’ Reinke grows into fine player

CEDAR RAPIDS - When the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders selected Mitch Reinke two years ago in the United States Hockey League Futures Draft, he was this itty bitty little defenseman.

How itty bitty? RoughRiders Coach/General Manager Mark Carlson figured 140 pounds.

Reinke thought even itty-er bitty-er.

'I'd say when they took me, I was about 120,” he said. 'I'd say 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds. I'm about 167 right now, so quite a development, I guess. Coach knew it was going to be a process. I knew that, too. He said to really hit the weights hard, really get after it there. I tried my best to do that.”

The Minnesota resident hit a growth spurt when he was a junior at Stillwater High School. He said always being the smallest guy on the ice actually helped him develop more.

You learn to skate, pass and make plays a lot quicker just to survive.

'Being a smaller guy, you have to look out for yourself,” he said. 'You have to move the puck, a lot of quick escapes.”

Reinke has made an immediately impact for the RoughRiders (13-2), who play the United States National Team Development Program U-16 team Friday and Saturday nights at Ann Arbor, Mich. He has a pair of goals, seven points and is a plus-11 in 15 games.

Notoriously tough to please, Carlson lauds Reinke's game, adding his future is extremely bright. The 18-year-old has committed to top-ranked Michigan Tech, joining that program either next season or in 2016.

'I just think he is so well rounded,” Carlson said. 'He's a smart player, he competes, he has worked to improve his strength. He's got good vision, he's mobile, has a good stick. There's just a lot of positives there.”

Carlson was asked if he took a leap of faith by drafting Reinke, considering his size at the time.

'I just thought he was our kind of player,” the coach said. 'He can get up and down the rink, he can move the puck, he was a real good transition player, he was a really good kid. We did a lot of work on him. With his family and his character, we were just thrilled to draft him when we did. We're real happy we have him.”

Reinke has what is called 'hockey sense,” an innate ability to constantly be in proper position and make the correct play. Again, he thinks his lack of size has helped with that.

'You know where guys are behind you, you know where guys are when you can't see them,” he said. 'You find the guy right away, I'd say … From an early age, I've always moved the puck pretty quickly. I'd say that's where that started.”

Reinke comes from an interesting family. His sister, Allie, plays soccer at the University of Minnesota, and his father, Chris, is a former masters division world championship boxer.

Chris Reinke also was a security guard for Kiss and Bon Jovi. Mitch and a bunch of friends got backstage passes over the summer to hob knob with Kiss.

'I've gotten to meet them a couple of times,” Reinke said. 'They're just so funny. Gene Simmons put my mom in a headlock for pictures and stuff. He's a character.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com