David Reinbacher continues to rehab.
David Reinbacher continues to rehab.
David Reinbacher has a chance to be a dynamic defenseman in the NHL someday. He has size, 6’3”, and currently 209 pounds. He plays fast and he plays with aggression. There’s a chance he will become a perennial all-star.
Reinbacher was drafted fifth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. This created expectations. There was a chance that was going to meet them this season, but a bad knee injury was expected to have him sit 5-6 months this season. That was around October 1st so maybe he can play some games at the end of the season for either Laval or Montreal.
Laval is probably where it’s going to happen. Their season ends later in April, and it would be better for him to play at that level since he started the season that way. Reinbacher Could possibly do both.
If he played one game in Montreal and finished things out, that could be a great way to salvage this lost season of development, and my hope is he’s been weightlifting with the extra time after rehabbing his knee. That would help a lot for next year.
I think Reinbacher is a 40-45 point defenseman with a lot of snarl and the ability to play against the top forwards in the league. That will take some time, and he will be just 21 next season. There’s no shame if he doesn’t make the team and plays the entire season in Laval, or at least 75% of it.
Whatever the expectations were for him, was tempered with the injury. Not for upside but for overall patience.