David Reinbacher: will the Canadiens give him the Logan Mailloux treatment in Laval?

Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are the three defensemen with the best chances of breaking into the Habs lineup among prospects with little NHL experience.

Let’s say among guys with two games or less in the NHL.

There’s a lot of speculation as to who’ll get the nod, but it looks like Hutson has the best chance of making the club. Meanwhile, Reinbacher should start at the bottom and Mailloux will fight for his place in the sun.

Can this change? Yes. But at the same time, that’s the word on the street.

Obviously, it’s important to qualify that the October picture will be different from that of January or April. After all, at the start of the season, the sun is shining, everyone has had the best summer of their lives, no one has been playing badly for months and everyone – or almost everyone – is healthy.

So, as the season progresses, perhaps some youngsters will force the issue of a recall. And clearly, if Reinbacher starts playing under Pascal Vincent in Laval and develops well, we’ll be wondering whether a recall will be on the table.

But Stu Cowan, who discussed his case in a recent paper, thinks that Flanelle management would like to see him play a full season at the end of the orange line in 2024-2025.

My weekly #Habs Mailbag answering questions from @mtlgazette readers about Samuel Montembeault, Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, Florian Xhekaj, Ivan Demidov, Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson #HabsIO: https://t.co/jn1h5IwIXU

– Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) July 19, 2024

It’s worth remembering that this is what happened to Logan Mailloux in 2023-2024. He may have made his NHL debut, but he played all 72 Rocket games in the process.

After playing little in the OHL due to COVID-19, his situation and injuries, seeing Mailloux play felt good.

Reinbacher is currently a year younger than Mailloux was last year, and seeing him get used to the AHL schedule (number of games overall, number of games per week, etc.) and the North American style of play wouldn’t hurt.

Obviously, this is a potential plan on paper in the middle of summer. It may change down the road, but it’s good to see the Habs thinking about giving Reinbacher time to develop down under.

This will be a big mandate for Pascal Vincent.

Let’s also note that the Habs finally have the means to do it. I’m not saying that Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris and company all deserved to go to Laval in 2022-2023… but let’s just say that seeing the holes to be filled upstairs forced management’s hand a little over time.

Overtime

– It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

“Wait until you see Rempe this year “: https://t.co/9F9RhVkohT

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) July 19, 2024

– That’s saying a lot.

Laurent Courtois simply replied “coach’s choice” when I asked him why Sunusi Ibrahim wasn’t in the squad for the last few games, even though he’s the team’s top scorer.

– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) July 19, 2024

– Ouch.

Samuel Piette just admitted in a press briefing that he arrived home at 5:30 AM Thursday morning, following the rain delay and a flight delay (NJ-MTL).

Let’s hope the guys aren’t too exhausted tomorrow against TFC…

– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) July 19, 2024

– Coming up.

Tom Pearce and Dawid Bugaj are training with the group, but they’re not physically (fitness) ready to play.

“Pearce is more ready, but it won’t be in the near future […] It’s for the long term.” – Laurent Courtois

– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) July 19, 2024

– That’s something to consider.

Just an opinion/conservation: Laurent Courtois has often mentioned in recent weeks how much he values being physically fit (fitness wise).

+players who haven’t been in the squad recently are probably not fit enough

– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) July 19, 2024