David Reinbacher’s Swiss coach has several links with the Canadian

The Kloten club in Switzerland is better known than ever to Montreal Canadiens fans. Why? Because a certain David Reinbacher played there last year. Because a certain David Reinbacher played there last year and is set to return this year.

Is that a certainty? No, but…

We know that the Habs plan to allow him to develop in Europe this year. We know that there’s congestion on the CH blue line and that he can’t go to Laval without the agreement of his club in Switzerland this season.

Barring a fiery training camp, he’ll soon be packing his bags for Switzerland.

By playing in Switzerland, he’ll be able to continue working on his game away from the spotlight and in a league that’s really more similar to the AHL than you’d think, according to Gerry Fleming.

Who is Gerry Fleming? He’s the new coach at Kloten… and Arpon Basu of The Athletic chatted to him for a bit.

It’s important to know that the coach is obviously preaching to the choir, but he speaks from experience, having worked in the AHL for 12 years.

The Montreal native, whose father worked at the Forum and Bell Centre, has been an AHL assistant in Fredericton and Quebec City in the past. He also recently worked for the Oilers’ club-school… where he once had Jean-François Houle as an assistant.

He played in Montreal at junior level, and his 11 NHL games in the mid-1990s were for La Flanelle.

Just on that note, without necessarily mentioning the guy’s coaching experience, it’s clear that the Swiss club’s new pilot can help Reinbacher, from a distance, get used to the pressure that will come with the Montreal market. He has many ties with the CH and with Montreal itself.

He can’t help with Reinbacher’s status as a top prospect, since the Montrealer never was, but hey: he’s not the 18-year-old’s only resource either.

Fleming expects to see the youngster back in Kloten and give him lots and lots of ice time. I think that’s what would be best for him in 2023-2024, but we’ll see after camp. After all, sometimes things can change quickly.

When you look at what’s happening with Matvei Michkov, who can’t play on a regular basis in Russia, it reminds us how important it will be to see Reinbacher play a lot this year. And in Switzerland, in a good league, he’ll get plenty of playing time.

In fact, he’s already identified areas to work on with Reinbacher. If they work together, it will help him.

In bursts

– Is Thomas Chabot happy this morning?

– Obviously.

– Great read.

– The killer question.

– Well done.

Julien Tremblay had to hang up his skates when he came within a millimeter of losing the use of his legs. But that didn’t stop him, this week, from reaching the NHL as a 31-year-old skills coach with the Ducks. Here’s his story

https://t.co/DBEvspWUz7

– Guillaume Lefrançois 🟦🇨🇿 (@glefrancoisLP) September 7, 2023