2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #7 David Reinbacher

Introduction

With a season for the ages in Switzerland’s National League, David Reinbacher steadily climbed the draft rankings all through the year. In the end he was selected fifth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

It is easy to forget that the Austrian has played professionally for two years already. In his first year, he helped Kloten earn promotion from the Swiss League to the National League, and in his second year helped Kloten solidify its position in the top division.

During this time, his play has seen a positive trajectory and his usage has been during both five-on-five as well as both special-teams situations, with his ice time increasing throughout the season.

While his World Junior Championship outing was nondescript on a weak Austrian team. he held his own in the World Championship until he was upended by Rasmus Sandin (with a fair tackle, it must be said).

Being a right-shot defenceman, with size, and with two professional seasons under his belt in a very good league, Reinbacher became the first blue-liner off the board in the draft.

Voting

He makes his debut in the Top 25 Under 25 at number seven. Throughout the years, there have been other first-round debutants higher on the list, but competition has never been tougher.

Reinbacher starts off the top tier of this year’s countdown as we get into the high-end players. He’s the first consensus top-10 player, and has no vote lower than eighth. The gap from the defenceman to Alex Newhook at number eight is 3.4 positions by average, the second-largest in the list.

History of #7

Strengths

One is reminded of soccer when you watch Reinbacher on the ice. An anonymous quote once said that the right back is the most important player on the pitch as they build up all of the attack. Reinbacher is the base for the same kind of role, but on the ice instead.

He has a puck-retrieval role, where you have to evade or box out the offensive actions of the other team in order to facilitate a clean and controlled zone breakout and start the attack. He scans the ice well and uses that skill to either move to the centre of the ice or pass the puck out wide to a player with speed to facilitate a zone entry. He had more primary assists (12) than secondary assists (7) last year, something that helps show that his vision and hockey IQ combine well together.

He was tasked to play heavy minutes against the opposing teams best lines in his draft year, something that has improved his defensive reads and other attributes. He has stood up well against what the opponents could throw at him, and he learned to play on the defensive side of the puck. He wasn’t used on the penalty kill (0.24 min per game), which is something that should increase if he stays in National League this season.

Weaknesses

EHC Kloten lists him at 190 cm (6’2″) and only 85 kilograms (187 pounds)), and as with all newly drafted players he could use some extra muscle on his body. In order to become an NHL regular, Reinbacher will have to improve in every aspect of the physical game.

A question lingers about Rienbacher’s offence. It could just be that it has been underused due to Kloten’s standing as a small, newly promoted team just trying to keep its head above water defensively, but it’s possible that never becomes a significant part of his game. He will never be the easy-attacking buccaneer that Erik Karlsson is, but there is room for improvement at the offensive end of the ice.

Projection

Reinbacher was the most NHL-ready defenceman in the draft, so his floor is very high. He will be a player who can transition the puck from the right side of his own in a controlled manner.

Can he expand on that role? That’s the million dollar question. If he can, Montreal might have hit a home run for its young core. Reinbacher will be part of the Canadiens’ future, the question is in what capacity. At worst, the Austrian should be a second-pairing defenceman, but if all goes to plan Montreal might have a top-pairing option going forward.

In development camp, a lot of the focus ended up on the Lane Hutson-Reinbacher pairing, a duo that stood out for its play but also for what seemed to be a bubbling chemistry between the young players. This could have been the key determining factor in drafting Reinbacher; he wasn’t the sexiest option at fifth in the 2023 draft, however he might be the player who will provide the sexy pick from last year’s draft with the missing elements of his skill set. That could be how Montreal strikes gold with Reinbacher down the line.

Kloten’s captain and David Reinbacher’s mentor, Steve Kellenberger, joins the podcast to give us a rare insight into the prospect’s development and progression:

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