Kent Hughes Grabs a Diamond in the Rough for the Canadiens

General manager Kent Hughes explained why Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher was the best pick for the Montreal Canadiens with the fifth overall selection in the NHL Draft.

The Montreal Canadiens surprised several observers and fans by selecting defenseman David Reinbacher with the fifth choice overall in the NHL Draft. 

The team received calls but the general manager decided to hold their selection. "There were different options of what we could have done from a trade perspective. At the end of the day, our scouts believe that this was a hockey player that was going to play for us for an awfully long time," said Kent Hughes. "We weren't going to be able to find a trade that would be as valuable as David (Reinbacher) at five."

In fact, each general manager held on to their picks on Wednesday night. Per NHL Stats, it was the first time since 2007 that no trades were completed during the first round of the Draft. 

Kent Hughes said that they talked about Reinbacher with Canadiens assistant coach Stephane Robidas who watched the young Austrian on video and saw potential.  "He's a big player. His defensive IQ is very, very high and he can go from defense to the attack very quickly," Hughes said.

Hughes was also impressed with the humility of Reinbacher when they met with him privately. He told Habs management that he was looking forward to putting on his work boots and helping the team to win a Stanley Cup. Hughes said that Reinbacher's message meshed well with the culture that head coach Marty St. Louis is attempting to establish.

While the scouting report on the 18-year-old points to his strong defensive play, Hughes says that the prospect has a broader toolset. "I don't see him as a shutdown defenseman. He's good defensively, good with the stick, skates really well, really good at moving the puck and also makes good decisions to get the puck out of the zone," said Hughes. 

Reinbacher was high on the Canadiens list for a long time, although that may have something to do with his strong side. "If he was a left-shot defenseman, we might have cooled on him, but we don't have as much depth on the right side," said Hughes. "David is a diamond in the rough with a lot of potential."

The general manager sees Reinbacher's ceiling as a number two defenseman. "I'm not sure he's going to run a first power play in the National Hockey League," projected Hughes. "I think he has the potential to log very significant minutes for our team." 

When it was the Canadiens turn to be on the clock, Matvei Michkov (ranked fourth by The Hockey News) was still available. The team decided to pass on the Russian forward, who was drafted seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers a short time later.

On Tuesday, Hughes confirmed that they met Michkov face-to-face in Nashville and the forward left a good first impression. 

The club did not see enough of the 18-year-old to feel confident enough to select him. "There are a lot of factors that go into a decision. One of them is that we didn't get the chance to see him play (in person.) I believe a lot in video but not to only rely on video," Hughes explained. 

The general manager added that, in his opinion, current Canadiens forwards like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach have more to give. He believes that over the long term, Reinbacher will help the team more.

"If we felt there was a better pick, we would have taken it," said Hughes.