What’s next for Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher?

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
What’s next for Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher?
Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

By all accounts, the 2023-24 season has been incredibly difficult for Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher.

After playing heavy minutes for EHC Kloten in the top league in Switzerland in 2022-23 – something you rarely see in any European pro league from an 18-year-old – injuries and a lack of quality support in the team’s lineup hindered the Austrian defender’s campaign. He saw his his offense cut in half, but his ice time never wavered, often sitting between 18-20 minutes most nights. No Kloten defenseman was used more in 5-on-5.

For a full analytical breakdown on Reinbacher’s season, check out Thibaud Chatel’s excellent work here. Kloten finished second last during the NL regular season with just 17 wins in 52 games – more than 20 points out of a playoff position. The Canadiens sent Reinbacher to Kloten to continue allowing him to play a big role on a pro team, and they seemed to trust Gerry Fleming, the team’s original coach. But in December, Fleming was fired and replaced by GM Larry Mitchell, who then stepped back in January to let Stefan Mair take over.

That’s three coaches in one season – not including the bench bosses from his brief time in North America during the preseason. To put it lightly, Kloten’s season was a clustercluck of epic proportions.

Reinbacher was officially reassigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Monday, allowing him to join the club for the team’s playoff push. With 12 games in the regular season – including three against Belleville and Toronto this weekend, the two teams Laval is primarily chasing – there are plenty of opportunities for Reinbacher to step in and help the team out.

Reinbacher spent some time in Quebec last fall, so he’s not totally a stranger to the area. But there’s still a level of pressure when you join a team amid a playoff push in an environment you’re not entirely comfortable with. So, despite him being the blueliner with the highest ceiling on the Rocket, you have to temper expectations here.

To start, Laval might be hesitant to just hand him a role over someone who has been in the trenches all year long. Coach Jean-Francois Houle will do whatever he needs to make his team as competitive as possible, which might mean easing Reinbacher in without forcing everything.

Realistically, it’s about getting Reinbacher up to speed with the system and adjusting to North American hockey. He struggled at points during the Buffalo Prospect Challenge in September, which, in a way, wasn’t unexpected as the youngest defender in the lineup. But two criticisms scouts had back then were that he took too long to make passes from his own zone and that he didn’t use his size enough.

Reinbacher looked a lot more comfortable with the puck once he returned from his knee injury midway through the NL season, but those are two valid issues still to this day. At 6-foot-4, he’s got the size all NHL teams crave. And we’ve seen enough great moves with the puck to suggest he can put up points at the pro game – he just needs to break out of his shell and play with a bit more urgency.

It’s impressive that Reinbacher played such an important role as a pro player in his Draft +1 year. It just simply doesn’t happen often, regardless of league. But it felt like the time was wasted, offering him little support and throwing obstacle after obstacle at him all season long. Heading to Laval, a team with high ambitions and some key pieces of Montreal’s future, should give Reinbacher the boost he needs to prove what he can do.

It’s not clear what Montreal’s long-term plan was for Reinbacher. At some point, the team will have to start trying to become more competitive, and they’ll want to build around Reinbacher, Lane Hutson, Arber Xhekaj, and company on the blueline. But between the injury and the time spent playing on a bad team, there’s no rush to push Reinbacher up any time soon.

Getting him comfortable in game action with Laval is the No. 1 priority. He hasn’t played since early March, so throwing him into a 3-in-3 against teams they’re chasing in the playoff fight could be a bit chaotic. He still needs to adjust to the angles that playing on a smaller ice surface requires, but he moves well enough to really take advantage of it. Still, don’t expect immediate success.

Canadiens GM Kent Hughes said Reinbacher won’t play with the big club this year – and there’s an argument to be made that he shouldn’t in any full-time capacity next year, either. Montreal isn’t in a rush. Develop him correctly.

Yes, compared to others taken around him in 2023 – Will Smith, Matvei Michkov, Ryan Leonard, and Zach Benson come to mind – Reinbacher’s season has been unflattering. But don’t let revisionist history get to you: he was, head and shoulders, the best defenseman in the class. Reinbacher has top-pairing upside, and it’s up to him to prove that again.

Consider this a fresh start.

Montreal Canadiens fans: it’s time to introduce David Reinbacher.

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