“Instability at Kloten may have slowed David Reinbacher’s progress”

More recently, at rookie camp, David Reinbacher (5th overall in the 2023 draft) was not the best defenseman on the ice.

That title definitely goes to Lane Hutson, who was sensational.

Reinbacher’s first game was more difficult, but he bounced back well in the second. He didn’t have Hutson’s offensive flashes, for example, but he was effective in his own territory. As Simon Boisvert said on the Process podcast, “he played like it was the Stanley Cup Final”.

However, rookie games are about taking risks, believes Boisvert. Still, we’ll have to be patient with the youngster, who will have to wait until 2024-2025 to familiarize himself with North America’s smaller rinks. Adam Engstrom is in the same boat.

His team in Kloten may well be to blame for his development, which Bob Hartley believes is slow. Indeed, his team in Switzerland is a disaster and its instability has caused a slowdown in his progress, Hartley believes. He confessed as much in his column for BPM Sports today.

With three different coaches last season at one of Switzerland’s weakest clubs, conditions were not optimal for David Reinbacher’s development, believes Bob Hartley!

To listen to his column: https://t.co/UZEWRGpPVt pic.twitter.com/LLrFWAZYLh

– BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) September 18, 2024

The former Flames coach, in particular, returned to Francis Bouillon’s comments that the defenseman had “decent” performances without more. He says we’ll have to get used to the word Bouillon used when describing the young man.

In any case, Martin Lemay is not stressed.

One of the weak points at Kloten was the lack of consistency behind the bench. Clearly, this had an impact, but after playing 11 games in Laval, he’s already under another regime (Pascal Vincent). It’s off to a bad start…

Unlike his rookie camp team-mates Logan Mailloux and Lane Hutson, Reinbacher – barring a huge surprise – is not expected to be in Montreal as early as October.

Obviously, things can change over the course of the year, but a final (hopefully) season in Laval may be the best thing for him. Why? Because he’ll get plenty of ice time, whether it’s five-on-five, on the power play or shorthanded. If Mailloux were to start the season with the big club, he would inherit the very role that the team’s former first-round pick in 2021 had in 2023-2024.

Reinbacher will also be able to familiarize himself with North American rinks, while playing against a very high caliber.

In 11 games with the Rocket last year, he collected five points, including two goals and a plus-6 record. It was a good start to his professional career, and now he’ll just have to keep up the good work.