While David Reinbacher is the most well-known Austrian member of the Montreal Canadiens organization, another one had a great season in the Swiss league this year and will join Team Austria for the World Championship.
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Vinzenz Rohrer was drafted 75th overall by the Canadiens at the 2022 draft. After scoring 48 and 49 points in his two seasons in the OHL with the Ottawa 67’s, he returned to Europe to continue his development.
He spent the last two seasons playing with the Zurich Lions of the Swiss National League, where former NHL coach Marc Crawford coached him until he resigned for health reasons at the end of 2024. With the Lions, Rohrer won a Champions League title this season and two National League titles in a row.
In 52 games with the Lions this season, he scored 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points. He spent most of the season skating on the third line and got some power-play time when regulars were injured.
Interestingly, he led his team with 42 blocked shots, largely thanks to his ice time on the penalty kill. According to Guillaume Lefrancois in La Presse, Former coach Crawford once compared him to Mike Keane in these terms:
With his speed, his intelligence, and tenacity, he reminds me of Mike Keane. They have the same frame. Vinzenz doesn’t fight like Mike could do, but it’s the kind of player he is.
Still according to La Presse, current coach Marco Bayer sings his praises, saying:
He is very devoted to the system and its structure. He plays a significant role on our special teams and wins a lot of faceoffs on the right, even though he doesn’t play center.
While the prospect hasn’t signed a contract with the Canadiens yet, player development coach Lauri Korpikoski, who’s in charge of player development in Europe, is keeping close tabs on him. Rohrer hasn’t decided what to do next season; he must think about that after the World Championship.
Zurich would love to have him back. He has a contract with them until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, but he could still sign with the Canadiens. His European contract would only mean that he would be loaned to Zurich rather than assigned to Laval if he were cut. The young man’s objective is to jump to North America eventually, but there’s still time for a deal with the Habs. The Canadiens hold his rights until June 1, 2026.
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