Former 4th Overall Pick Announces His Retirement

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Matt Garland
June 4, 2022 (2:03 PM)

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Former 4th Overall pick Griffin Reinhart has announced his retirement from pro hockey. Drafted 4th overall in 2012 by the New York Islanders.

Many scouts had high hopes for Reinhart to have a long NHL career. He has great defensive instincts with his play in his own zone but ultimately his foot speed let him down. It hurt him is in recovery and in retrieving the puck. When he made a mistake or got caught flat-footed he just doesn't have the pure speed to get back. He played 8 games for the Islanders during the 2013-2014 season spending most of the season playing for the Islanders AHL Affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

During the 2015 Draft Reinhart was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a package that included the 16th overall pick in the 2015 draft who turned out to be Mathew Barzal. The Oilers had two promising centers in the pipeline at the time in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl so theirs a strong possibility that the Oilers would not have selected Barzal, some of the other players drafted around their 16th pick were Thomas Chabot, Kyle Connor, Brock Boeser, and Travis Konecny. Even in the second round, Travis Dermott, Sebastian Aho, and Brandon Carlo. This trade still hurts Oilers fans years later.

Reinhart played 29 games for the Oilers during the 2015-2016 season. He bounced around the AHL for the next few years before leaving for hockey in Europe. He had stops with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL, Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL and played 53 games last season for the Belfast Giants of the EIHL.

Griffin joins older brother Max who retired from pro hockey in 2018. This leaves the youngest brother Sam as the only remaining Reinhart playing pro hockey. He is coming off his career best season. He had 33 goals and 82 points in 78 games in his first season with the Florida Panthers.

We wish Griffin Reinhart all the best in retirement.