David Reinbacher’s opponents found him excellent last year

David Reinbacher’s name has given rise to very different opinions since he was drafted on Wednesday.

I understand both positions. At first, I was among those who were a little cold to the idea of drafting Renbacher, but now I think he’s an excellent choice for the Montreal Canadiens.

Obviously, there was a chance to hit a home run with Matvei Michkov, but there were too many question marks in his case.

What’s more, the Tricolore is trying to create a specific culture within the organization, and Michkov doesn’t seem to fit in. Many of his teammates found him excruciating, despite all his talent.

Reinbacher was a wise choice, as the Habs weren’t going to draft Michkov anyway, and the remaining forwards were less likely to become impact players.

Picking the best defenseman in the draft, and a right-handed one at that, greatly solidifies the defensive brigade, and more and more, defenses are winning Stanley Cups.

For skeptics, the following might help you decide that the Austrian was a good choice after all.

Former NHL forward Daniel Winnik had some very good things to say about the CH’s new defenseman.

Winnik has close to 800 games’ experience in the show. For the past four years, he has maintained an approximate rate of one point per game in Switzerland’s professional league.

He also addressed Button’s statement that Reinbacher is an Adam Larsson 2.0.

Winnik disagreed, saying that the 18-year-old Austrian showed great promise all year long when he faced him.

“He’s already showing superior balance, hands and skating ability to Adam Larsson right now. He’s a better skater, can take over and is playing against men already.” – Daniel Winnik

Not bad coming from a veteran of the National League in Switzerland.

The fact that he scored 22 points in 46 games in this league at the age of 18 speaks volumes about his profile.

He averaged twice as many points per game as Roman Josi in his draft year.

It’s worth mentioning that Reinbacher is a ” late” player, as his birthday is in October, and Josi was among the youngest of his crop. At that age, Josi scored 24 points in 42 games.

The fact remains that Josi had a 96-point season in 2021-2022.

Worst of all, Reinbacher’s main goal is to improve his offensive game and become an impact defenseman in the NHL.

Here’s a very interesting statistic on the best points-per-game averages by Europeans in their draft year. Reinbacher (0.48) is third on this list, behind Rasmus Dahlin (0.49) and Victor Hedman (0.49).

Miro Heiskanen (0.27), Josi (0.23) and Moritz Seider (0.21) are all far behind him, but are currently elite defensemen in the Bettman circuit.

Personally, I think the Habs could get a first-pair defenseman in Reinbacher. He’s already physically imposing, with excellent mobility, while being responsible in all three zones.

He greatly strengthens our blue line and could be an ideal partner for Lane Hutson.

However, only time will tell if Kent Hughes and his team got this draft right.

Breaking news

– Nolan Patrick, the second overall pick in the 2017 draft, will be free as a bird this Saturday, when the free agent market opens.

– Draymond Green won’t be changing teams.

– Winger Bruce Brown could perhaps eat some minutes from Quebecer Bennedict Mathurin.

– Seth Jones’ brother, Caleb, will not be back with the Chicago Blackhawks.

– What do you think?

This @NJDevils potential top six is looking pretty, pretty good. #NHLFreeAgency

What do you think? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/afcuO30j2a

– NHL (@NHL) June 30, 2023