D David Reinbacher - EHC Kloten, NL (2023, 5th, MTL)

[Vasilevskiy]

As I expected there would be a melt down from Habs fans when they didn't draft Michkov. Reinbacher is a very good player, I get the dissapointment but this guy will be a crucial player on their defense. I don't think this is the team that will regret not drafting Michkov... Arizona on the other hand...

 

[SenzZen]

 

[Baksfamous112]

Easily the worst pick in the draft. Not that he won't be a good player, but he could have been had moving back for more assets.

He wasn’t going pass Arizona at 6.

Hopefully these are not the same scouts that decided to spend high picks on Galchenyuk, KK, and whiff almost every year under Bergevin.

I like Reinvecher as a prospect. I just think with Michkov right there you have to take Mitchkov.

Be honest. How many games have you seen from both players? I would guess the number is 0.

So, what are you guys betting, is carey price going back to rehab soon?

Oh that’s very funny. You should be given a medal.

 

[Legend123]

As long he ends up being a Guhle 2.0 Im all for it. How wick would be to have 2 Guhles on your defense and during the playoffs? Pretty sick and I would def draft Guhle (or a Guhle type of player) at 5 OA.

 

[JRichard]

Argument is that rd are hard to find.
But there was 4 of them just in or close to the first round: Sandin-Pellika, Willander, Bonk and Dragicevic.

Savard, Barron, Kovacevic, Mailloux.
Kostenko drafted 3rd rd in 21.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

We are already mad. Our fans are angry at dealing picks but they also do not trust our scouts to draft well.

Yeah, there is nothing we could say that’ll make everyone happy. It’s something the fanbase has to come to accept themselves after watching him suit up in the Blue, Blanc et Rouge.

in due time the fanbase will admit they were wrong.

 

[Hinterland]

Hopefully these are not the same scouts that decided to spend high picks on Galchenyuk, KK, and whiff almost every year under Bergevin.

I like Reinvecher as a prospect. I just think with Michkov right there you have to take Mitchkov.

That's a valid point but from what I gathered, Michkov, for various reasons, has been on lots of teams do not draft list. Firstly, there's the contract situation and tied to it the mysterious death of his father. Secondly there's concerns about his work ethic and most importantly, apparently interviewing him has been either either difficult or even impossible to the point where many teams got the impression that the player has zero desire to ever sign with them.

Furthermore, I don't think Montreal has drafted any Russians since the start of the war. Whether the reason is behind that, if that's the team policy then you have to respect it. From what I heard, Montreal was never gonna draft Michkov and I don't think it's because they're questioning his talent. He got passed over by Montreal (and other teams) for the reasons I mentioned.

 

[Castle8130]

He also said that his scouts told him to draft Reinbacher with the 5th overall and not move the pick when offers came. Scouts are hired to identify talent, not organizational needs.

Arizona would've grabbed Reinbacher in a heartbeat. Simashev was a big reach IMO. The Coyotes had a huge need for defensemen in their prospect pool and basically passed over Leonard and Dvorsky to do so.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I’ve been saying it for months now, but this kid is a stud. Habs fans can be very happy with this pick. Reinbacher will be a solid 23+ minute a night two-way defender.

 

[Llewzaher]

Nope, coyotes would have taken him right after.

No the Coyotes were always going to pick Simashev, they had scouts over there that loved him.. they all went to Belarus to get to know him and his family.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I feel like this is something you shouldn't say out loud

Good grief. Way to both neg the player after the guy that announced the pick already forgot his name and come right out and admit it was a pick for need and not BPA.

 

[Frank Drebin]

It's being compared to the fantasy hype around Michkov that is making people down on reinbacher. If michkov becomes a consistent 100 point guy it doesn't matter how good reinbacher is. Likewise if michkov struggles to become something and reinbacher becomes an all around #1 shea Weber dman then Habs laugh in hindsight as franchise wise a top pairing RD is all we really need.

I wanted reinbacher with Florida's pick when it was still top 10 in December. Arizona were taking him at 6 if the Habs didn't at 5 for anyone wondering why we didn't trade down. Personally, I would have gambled on michkovs potential but I didn't get to interview him or test him so I'll reserve my judgement for a few years.

Really? If Michkov becomes Mitch Marner it won't matter if Reinbacher becomes Alex Pietrangelo?

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

There is nothing wrong with this pick if you ignore Michkov was available. He deserved to be a top 5 pick from everything I've read. I like it a lot more than Slaf at 1st overall.

 

[Doublechin]

Like, I don't like the pick at all, with Leonard, Michkov and Dvorsky on board, I preferred all 3, even Benson in my case.

I started seeing it coming, Benson was gonna fall, so if I loved him at 5, I would have traded down to get him, same f***ing concept here, while I understand that the Coyotes wanted Reinbacher, taking him at 5 is bad asset management.

If you loved him, trade down, you missed on him? whatever, you got rewarded the extra assets, you could still have landed Leonard or Michkov at 7, even Dvorsky if you wanted a center.

And if the rumored Askarov, 15 (Wood or ASP) and 24 (Perreault) offer was fact and you said no for Reinbacher, holy shiiiiiit.

Imagine we took Philly's 7th and 22nd and ended up with Leonard and Perreault...

Reinbacher to me was an asset valued near the 10th pick.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

I’ve been saying it for months now, but this kid is a stud. Habs fans can be very happy with this pick. Reinbacher will be a solid 23+ minute a night two-way defender.

I'm pretty high on Reinbacher. I have him in a similar tier as Carlsson. I think the Habs got themselves a very good player. I'm pretty happy with the pick - he's getting a bit underrated I think because he wasn't a consensus top 10 pick entering his draft year and plays in a non-traditional league for draft prospects.

 

[Tripledeke333]

He wasn’t going pass Arizona at 6.

Be honest. How many games have you seen from both players? I would guess the number is 0.


Oh that’s very funny. You should be given a medal.

I have watched zero full games of each. So what? The average HF poster or just going by the BPA consensus would have a much better track record than Habs scouts over the past 15 years.

 

[snipes]

I feel like this is something you shouldn't say out loud

So drafted for need and not BPA in the top 5? Not something a team should do let alone the GM admit. Yikes.

 

[Tripledeke333]

That's a valid point but from what I gathered, Michkov, for various reasons, has been on lots of teams do not draft list. Firstly, there's the contract situation and tied to it the mysterious death of his father. Secondly there's concerns about his work ethic and most importantly, apparently interviewing him has been either either difficult or even impossible to the point where many teams got the impression that the player has zero desire to ever sign with them.

Furthermore, I don't think Montreal has drafted any Russians since the start of the war. Whether the reason is behind that, if that's the team policy then you have to respect it. From what I heard, Montreal was never gonna draft Michkov and I don't think it's because they're questioning his talent. He got passed over by Montreal (and other teams) for the reasons I mentioned.

All of those reasons to pass on Mitchkov are ridiculous. So you think Mitchkov wants to play for the team that (according to BS rumors) “killed” his father? Russians came over during the USSR, and all of the best Russians come over now. Even if a KHL team operates at a loss to pay Mitchkov, he prob can get more $$$ in the NHL, that NHL $ is in American money with guaranteed contracts, and it is much nice to live in NA than Russia, especially with a war going on. Further, the KHL could poach any Russian the way they did to Radulov.

Yeah, I get Mitchkov’s contract is for 3 years but Dmen also take a long time to develop. If Reinbecker becomes a top 2 Dman in the NHL, it is likely not until 3 more years anyway.

 

[Frank Drebin]

So drafted for need and not BPA in the top 5? Not something a team should do let alone the GM admit. Yikes.

Honestly man you would think as an Oiler fan sometimes it takes a while to see how a draft plays out.

2016 Oilers got the steal of the draft getting Puju at 4. I'm sure the entire fanbase would have rioted if they passed on the consensus 3 guy for lower talent, lower ceiling players like Tkachuk, Keller, Sergachev, or McAvoy.

enough with the "yikes" stuff.

 

[snipes]

Honestly man you would think as an Oiler fan sometimes it takes a while to see how a draft plays out.

2016 Oilers got the steal of the draft getting Puju at 4. I'm sure the entire fanbase would have rioted if they passed on the consensus 3 guy for lower talent, lower ceiling players like Tkachuk, Keller, Sergachev, or McAvoy.

enough with the "yikes" stuff.

The ”yikes“ comes from the GMs own words about if he was a lefty they would have ”cooled” on him. Not something a GM should be saying.

I actually happen to like Reinbacher enough as a player just think there were better options available in that spot. Specifically Michkov who is the best Russian prospect in decades and has elite scoring ability which is something the Habs have lacked for forever.

 

[Frank Drebin]

The ”yikes“ comes from the GMs own words about if he was a lefty they would have ”cooled” on him. Not something a GM should be saying.

I actually happen to like Reinbacher enough as a player just think there were better options available in that spot. Specifically Michkov who is the best Russian prospect in decades and has elite scoring ability which is something the Habs have lacked for forever.

I guess if you want to read into that as drafting for need I wont argue. I don't think thats what he meant or what they did, but if he was a LD they likely would have looked harder at the options of trading down or selecting a different player just because our LD pool is stacked.

As for Michkov, time will tell if he's Pavel Bure, Vladimir Tarasenko or Nail Yakupov. 6 teams passed on him so there will be a lot of answering to do if he indeed becomes the second or best player of this draft.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

The ”yikes“ comes from the GMs own words about if he was a lefty they would have ”cooled” on him. Not something a GM should be saying.

I actually happen to like Reinbacher enough as a player just think there were better options available in that spot. Specifically Michkov who is the best Russian prospect in decades and has elite scoring ability which is something the Habs have lacked for forever.

wonder why 6 teams passed on that

 

[TopC0rner]

As long he ends up being a Guhle 2.0 Im all for it. How wick would be to have 2 Guhles on your defense and during the playoffs? Pretty sick and I would def draft Guhle (or a Guhle type of player) at 5 OA.

I think Reinbacher will be better than Guhle.

 

[snipes]

I guess if you want to read into that as drafting for need I wont argue. I don't think thats what he meant or what they did, but if he was a LD they likely would have looked harder at the options of trading down or selecting a different player just because our LD pool is stacked.

As for Michkov, time will tell if he's Pavel Bure, Vladimir Tarasenko or Nail Yakupov. 6 teams passed on him so there will be a lot of answering to do if he indeed becomes the second or best player of this draft.

Michkov is an absolutely special talent, I’m a big supporter of international hockey and he was outstanding going neck and neck with Bedard. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see them in their draft years against each other because their performances as underagers were head and shoulders above their peers. His performance in the KHL after he was traded is unprecedented for a draft eligible player.

Again, I think Reinbacher is a good prospect. Right shot D men who are big and mobile like him will always have value, they are highly coveted in the NHL.

As for the last point, there is always a degree of uncertainty. Particularly because players are drafted at 18 years old which makes things tricky. Unlike the NFL where guys get drafted at 20-23 years old and are immediately pro ready the vast majority of players outside of 1 or 2 every year are not NHL ready when they’re drafted. I think the draft age should be moved to 19 but that’s another discussion for another time.

I just think for a team that has been so starved for elite scoring talent to not take a guy like Michkov who was right there they’ll end up regretting.

 

[Frank Drebin]

I just think for a team that has been so starved for elite scoring talent to not take a guy like Michkov who was right there they’ll end up regretting.

I said the same thing last year when the Habs passed on the future 1C in Shane Wright. There must have been something about the player that they didn't like, because on paper the Wright pick made sense as did the Michkov one.

Hopefully it works out well for both Montreal and Philly.