David Reinbacher to represent Austria at 2026 Olympic qualifying tournament

We’re already into the second half of August, and the return of hockey is fast approaching. The guys are in their final preparations before the start of camp, and it’s starting to smell like hockey.

The Habs have been talking a lot about the various battles they’ll be seeing at camp. It’s mainly on the blue line that things are going to come to a head, as the youngsters start to push forward.

That said, David Reinbacher will be there too, and while everyone sees him spending (most of) the year in Laval, the main player has other plans. He’s got his sights set on the NHL… and he’s going all out for it, having trained with NHLers all summer.

What’s interesting is that in two weeks’ time, Reinbacher will already be playing competitive games again. The defenseman has been chosen to defend Austria’s colors in the qualifying tournament for the 2026 Olympic Games.

Austria’s roster for men’s Olympic qualifiers features David Reinbacher, Marco Kasper, and Vinzenz Rohrer. No Marco Rossi.

Austria faces Slovakia, Kazakhstan, and Hungary from Aug. 29-Sep. 1. Winner of the group goes to the Olympics.https://t.co/Ue4fmcaUdC

– Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) August 16, 2024

In fact, it’s not necessarily a surprise in the sense that Reinbacher is one of his country’s finest talents. In terms of caliber on the ice, there’s no doubt that Austria wanted him.

That said, it’s interesting to see the Habs agree to the deal… in two ways.

On the one hand, we can say that the Habs want their protégé to be able to break the rust and play competitive games before coming to the club’s camp. He’ll play three games at the competition, and the intensity of those games is something he probably won’t get at Habs camp.

On the other hand, having said that, it could also be said that the Habs agreed because they don’t necessarily see him making the club this season. Remember that we still don’t know whether the Habs have agreed to Juraj Slafkovský taking part in the tournament… and in his case, we know he’ll be playing in the NHL this season.

The Habs’ decision on Slaf ‘s presence (or not) at the tournament will probably tell us a lot about their intentions with their young defenseman in 2024-25.

But should the club decide to let Slafkovský take part in the tournament, he will have the opportunity to face Reinbacher on the ice on August 29… while Ivan Demidov is also in action in Russia at the Puchkov tournament. It could be a big day for Habs fans, even before September.

You might want to mark August 29th on your Habs calender.

If the team allows Slaf to go play in the Olympic Qualifier, we’ll potentially see:

– Juraj Slafkovsky & Slovakia vs David Reinbacher & Austria at 12:00ET.

– Ivan Demidov & Russia U-23 vs SKA at 12:30 ET. pic.twitter.com/xRLFz0Ggb2

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) August 16, 2024