At 6 feet 2 inches, David Reinbacher is still growing

David Reinbacher. The 18-year-old Austrian has been a member of the Habs for barely a week, and already he’s one of the most polarizing guys in Montreal.

Kent Hughes made him his first pick (5th overall) at the draft, and the youngster is already the talk of the town, and with good reason. Despite the fact that he’s not the unanimous choice of the fans, you can feel that the love for him is real.

The goal is to counter the wave of bad comments about him →https://t.co/nT0IHpBcBN

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) July 2, 2023

At 6 feet 2 inches, Reinbacher is a big guy. He’s a right-handed defenseman, the kind of defenseman the Habs have been missing. He’ll be an important asset on the blue line of Montreal’s future.

Will he be Lane Hutson’s first defensive partner? Craig Button thinks so, and yesterday, at the team’s development camp, the two gems were transferred together for a few drills.

The 6’2″ Button is already big, but according to Renaud Lavoie (on BPM Sports), he’s still growing. After all, he’s only 18, and guys can grow up to 21 in some cases.

Last year, Reinbacher broke his hand, and when X-rays were taken, the doctors discovered that his growth plates weren’t closed. Still according to Lavoie, although the CH’s official data lists the guy at 6 feet 2 inches, Reinbacher seems to measure more like 6 feet 3 inches.

With Kaiden Guhle (6 feet 2 inches), Logan Mailloux (6 feet 3 inches), the CH’s defense in the years to come is going to be very strong. And as we’ve noticed, Stanley Cup-winning teams have defenses that carry a lot of weight. This was the case with the Tampa Lightning, the Colorado Avalanche and, more recently, the Vegas Golden Knights.

And while the CH didn’t win the championship in 2021, the defense that propelled them to the finals included Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson, all big men.

In 2023, big defenses seem to be the norm. My colleague Tony Patoine put in a good word for me yesterday.