Canadiens loan David Reinbacher to AHL

The Montreal Canadiens announced Wednesday that defenseman David Reinbacher has been loaned to the Laval Rocket, the club’s AHL affiliate. Per Vincent Demuy of BPM Sports, Reinbacher will make his season debut Wednesday when the Rocket host the Manitoba Moose, the farm club of the Winnipeg Jets.

Sidelined for the first five months of the 2024-25 campaign after suffering a knee injury in exhibition action, Reinbacher split last season between Kloten HC of the first-tier Swiss league, where he played on loan, before closing out the year with the Rocket. With the Rocket, Reinbacher showed plenty of promise as he registered five points counting two goals and three assists through 11 contests alongside four penalty minutes and a plus-six rating. With Kloten, Reinbacher saw 35 appearances in which he scored once and added 10 assists for 11 points coupled with 18 penalty minutes and a minus-15 mark.

Reinbacher’s loan to Kloten marked his second season in the Swiss pro league following a successful draft year showing in 2022-23 where through 46 contests he collected three goals and 19 assists for 22 points to finish seventh in team scoring and second among defensemen. Reinbacher then added another two points through three postseason appearances. For his efforts, Reinbacher was recognized as the Swiss National League’s Youngster of the Year.

The 20-year-old Austrian-born blue-liner has also seen success on the international stage, twice representing his native Austria at the World Juniors. In the 2022 tournament, he finished with two points in four games, while the following year, in which he served as an alternate captain, he notched two points through five outings. Reinbacher also represented Austria at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, finishing with one assist in four appearances.

Originally chosen fifth overall by Montreal in the 2023 NHL Draft, Reinbacher has yet to make his NHL debut.