Prospect Info: David Reinbacher

[Adam Michaels]

His nickname should be “just david”

If he plays with a mean streak, he should be "David & Goliath."

 

[TCIH]

I can't remember the last time I've rooted this much for a prospect on a personal level. Maybe Bozon after his illness?

I would've taken Michkov from the information I had but everything I've read since the pick has convinced me that maybe my fears about the position overriding an honest assessment of skill weren't warranted. Even beyond being a RHD he seems like he has enough skill and potential to go as high as he did.

Hopefully he can prove the naysayers wrong and become a superstar at the NHL level.

 

[pepperMonkey]

The way he phrased I think we're talking about Ryan Leonard. Anything else wouldn't make sense and certainly not Michkov. If we didn't know before, this pretty much confirms he was on Montreal's no draft list.

Yip, that would be my guess. Leonard and Rein tied for potential, Rein winning by virtue of being a RHD. I would also hazard a guess and say Smith was their main get.

Mishkov wouldn't have been on their no draft list. Now, he may have put himself on the no draft list after the interview, or the interview may have confirmed their fears but if he was already on their NDL, then they wouldn't have bothered to interview him.

 

[Mad]

I suspect a strong personality inside the club imposed his will on everyone. It’s happened elsewhere, scouts start finding positives for the player the executive likes. There’s stuff on the Internet on this scouting phenomenon.

The united front will just break when people start losing their job over this. Then, you’ll have them all run away from the pick when they look for another employment. Only then will we have the full story.

It’s entirely possible that a few people at key positions were in favour of this pick which could have influenced others into it (which can also happen during a discussion or a debate).

There’s no doubt in my mind that it wasn’t unanimous, but they need to put a united front. We aren’t privy to all the information so there’s different ways this could have gone internally.

The only thing I can say, for having watched him personally and for sharing opinions with other who did, kid is really good. There’s no way someone watch a game where he’s in and doesn’t come impress by some things he does on the ice. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they all did like him. Some might have liked others more, but maybe that difference wasn’t enough to tip the scale elsewhere.

For your last point, you’re entirely right. Look no further than that Philadelphia scout who threw Hextall under the bus for going against his scouts opinion. In the end, it’s still the GM responsibility to make the decision.

Like you said, time will tell.

 

[Hinterland]

It’s entirely possible that a few people at key positions were in favour of this pick which could have influenced others into it (which can also happen during a discussion or a debate).

There’s no doubt in my mind that it wasn’t unanimous, but they need to put a united front. We aren’t privy to all the information so there’s different ways this could have gone internally.

The only thing I can say, for having watched him personally and for sharing opinions with other who did, kid is really good. There’s no way someone watch a game where he’s in and doesn’t come impress by some things he does on the ice. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they all did like him. Some might have liked others more, but maybe that difference wasn’t enough to tip the scale elsewhere.

For your last point, you’re entirely right. Look no further than that Philadelphia scout who threw Hextall under the bus for going against his scouts opinion. In the end, it’s still the GM responsibility to make the decision.

Like you said, time will tell.

Well, Hughes said his scouts advised him to reject trade offers and select Reinbacher instead of moving back. We don't know what the Front office thought but Hughes made it sound as if the majority of scouts (or more relevant scouts) asked him to take Reinbacher.

 

[Kennerback]

It’s entirely possible that a few people at key positions were in favour of this pick which could have influenced others into it (which can also happen during a discussion or a debate).

There’s no doubt in my mind that it wasn’t unanimous, but they need to put a united front. We aren’t privy to all the information so there’s different ways this could have gone internally.

The only thing I can say, for having watched him personally and for sharing opinions with other who did, kid is really good. There’s no way someone watch a game where he’s in and doesn’t come impress by some things he does on the ice. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they all did like him. Some might have liked others more, but maybe that difference wasn’t enough to tip the scale elsewhere.

For your last point, you’re entirely right. Look no further than that Philadelphia scout who threw Hextall under the bus for going against his scouts opinion. In the end, it’s still the GM responsibility to make the decision.

Like you said, time will tell.

I saw lots of video on both. I liked both Michkov and Reinbacher. I think Rein compared favourably to the rest of the 6 to 10 prospects. There’s a lot to like about him but we’re not talking about the same level of player as MM.

 

[Jaynki]

Th

“Ironically”??

This guy is an adult. He should be held accountable for doing this like that.

Wish the Habs would ban him for life in the Bell Centre

 

[Canadienna]

If he plays with a mean streak, he should be "David & Goliath."

Put him on a pair with Xhekaj, voila David + Goliath

 

[Rapala]

I wasn't mentioning Newhook. About him yeah he looks promising. I'm sure he is able to produce way more pts than what he did with Avs limited time. I think we are rebuilding fine with few peices here and there. We are in a trap with old overpaid vets, about 2 years for Hoff+Dvo. Gallagher, I prefer not thinking about him. If right now all the bad vets were gone out of the payroll, I would be smiling, and I guess you too bro.

About the weight it's not as a close idea in concrete, In can think we could win with few small players but they must check more boxes and one of them is the speed, great speed. Stanley Cups winners are often a good group in the right age, 6 feet and more, they have a good system of play and together they create a pressure with their speed and grit. I mean, it looks very cliché but true it happens often that way.

I know you weren't mentioning Newhook and the only reason I brought him up is he's just another piece of the puzzle easily discarded if need be.
Size isn't an issue we can't overcome if Dach and Slaf fulfill their potential. I do agree we lack another big tough talented winger who isn't afraid to drop them. Finally don't get me started about our fourth line we still have some shit to shovel and at times it seems like we only have a spoon to work with.

 

[BLONG7]

Too many people on here focus only on stats, and even then what he did in the NL is impressive for his age.

Anyone who watched him play understands why he has such a high floor and why a top pairing is definitely possible in his case.

People are raving about Sanderson, but I’m was more impressed by what Reinbacher could do on the ice especially this young.

Against men......................not other kids.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

he basically said if theyre looking at a couple guys at a spot, they’ll go with positional need/culture fit. to me, that’s tiering the guys, so they probably had reinbacher Leonard and michkov in the same tier and selected reinbacher because we need rd

What he said was that the only way position is factored in is as a tie-breaker, and that wasn't the case with Reinbacher because he was their guy. So they chose the BPA by their list.

You obviously WANT to believe that they did not pick by BPA, so if that helps you be angry with management for whatever reason you want extra people to be angry with, enjoy!

David Reinbacher looks like he could be a great addition. It would be great if he could keep progressing!! He's been on quite the upswing!!

 

[Mad]

I saw lots of video on both. I liked both Michkov and Reinbacher. I think Rein compared favourably to the rest of the 6 to 10 prospects. There’s a lot to like about him but we’re not talking about the same level of player as MM.

I had Michkov 2nd, so I won’t argue about that, he’s insanely skilled. He isn’t a generational player and there’s quite a few 1st overall I would take in front of him. I have no doubt he’ll have an impact when he comes over.

The disappointment of not getting a star forward is understandable. No one knows who will reach his floor/ceiling, that’s something will know in time. Even then, I do believe Michkov has a pretty high floor and a higher ceiling.

 

[BLONG7]

Daniel Winnik (800 games in the NHL and now plays against Reinbacher in the Swiss League) raved about his play against men. He said Craig Button's comparison to Adam Larsson is selling the kid short and that he's already a better skater, puck handler and has more poise than Larsson.

But in all seriousness, the biggest question to answer is......... does Winnik who played 800 games in the NHL have a HF Account? LOL....................

 

[JoelWarlord]

Nope he said if he was a LD they probably wouldn't have been so into him. When I heard this, I thought of two things immediately.

1. They understand LD is the their strongest organizational position

2. In tandem with 1, they had a few players all in the same tier (maybe a Leonard, etc) and went for what they thought would be the most effective pick at RD.

Yeah this seemed obvious to me, the whole "omg they picked for need" thing was a complete non-story IMO. They were just saying that if Reinbacher shot left at some point you have to think about the fact you have Matheson, Guhle, Xhekaj, Harris, Edmundson on the roster, and Hutson, Engstrom, Trudeau, etc etc in the system and maybe lean toward Leonard if they had ruled out Michkov. I know drafting anyone but the BPA is seen as a cardinal sin but at some point you can't just draft another LD high unless they're an obvious slam dunk like Hedman or something.

Button is a vacuous twit.

The funniest Button tendency is that he throws out wild takes every year around draft time so that purely on a numbers basis he'll eventually be "right" in hindsight.

 

[OnTheRun]

Yip, that would be my guess. Leonard and Rein tied for potential, Rein winning by virtue of being a RHD. I would also hazard a guess and say Smith was their main get.

Mishkov wouldn't have been on their no draft list. Now, he may have put himself on the no draft list after the interview, or the interview may have confirmed their fears but if he was already on their NDL, then they wouldn't have bothered to interview him.

There is very little reason to skip on the opportunity to talk with a player even if you don't intend to draft him.

 

[Schooner Guy]

There is very little reason to skip on the opportunity to talk with a player even if you don't intend to draft him.

A lot of hockey ops groups actually get good intelligence on other players when they interview players they don't intend to pick or won't be able to pick (e.g. Bedard, McDavid).

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Have the 3 Coyotes fans gone bananas becaue they didn't take MIchkov???

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Well, Hughes said his scouts advised him to reject trade offers and select Reinbacher instead of moving back. We don't know what the Front office thought but Hughes made it sound as if the majority of scouts (or more relevant scouts) asked him to take Reinbacher.

Yeah, Reinbacher was clearly their guy. I don't know why people are having trouble with that. @Goldenhands had him at 4 and some scouts had him as high as 3. He was in that top tier. Habs got their guy. No slight to anyone - Habs just liked Reinbacher better. End of story. I'm super happy with the pick. I think of him as a Leo Carlsson tier player but at defense. That's a pretty exciting player. I bet the Habs were actually pretty happy to be able to take him at 5.

 

[Runner77]

What if Michkov's a head case? There have been reports. I have no idea if they're true but Bobrov would certainly know.

I'm only pointing this out to highlight that none of us are close to the situation. I'm not giving Briere and loudmouth Jonesy the benefit of the doubt. They were amateur hour all last weekend with their leaks and Briere has a son in his mid-20s who threw a disable person's wheelchair down a flight of stairs. It still bothers me that the Habs had Lafleur pass the torch to him in the home opener ceremony after the washed up Danny played us several years before that to get a huge contract from Philly.

None of us know what the HuGo regime knows and they are huge on this team's culture and the young core certainly gives off an appearance of being a tight-knit family. Not to mention I have read scouting reports noting that parts of Michkov's game have stagnated relative to his peers.

I normally agree with a lot of your posts but seems to me you’re reaching on this one in what looks like an attempt at all costs to justify not taking Michkov.

What if Michkov’s not a head case? Kid lost his father in mysterious circumstances not long ago — does he get any consideration for what that can do to a young man’s life?

This whole Bobrov would know thing can only go so far. Habs have their sources but what if the Flyers had actionable intel of their own, that the Habs missed out on?

You’re bringing up random reports questioning his mental makeup when you know all too well that none of them have come from reliable and authoritative sources.

Sure, don’t give Brière the benefit of the doubt. Has Bobrov done anything to earn your trust? I’m personally on the fence about him and his Rangers record is spotty at best. He’s shown himself to be a very invasive kind of guy, who likes to swing above his station. Remember how he was a European scout but when we saw behind the screen footage of Ranger war rooms, he took over? How well did his decisions go?

This is the guy you want to place your trust in over Brière? Bobrov looks like a slick snake oil salesman — lots of sizzle and little steak.

Amateur hour with the leaks? Brière was just named GM at the most critical juncture, is it not possible that mistakes were made? That he doesn’t have all of his personnel in place?

As much as he made mistakes, he did use the media to try and get the Habs off the scent. He also convinced Michkov and his family to spend time with him in Philly, where he got way more direct contact with the young man than Hughes did. Did the Habs go the extra mile like that, when everyone had said that access to him had been difficult in Russia? Should Hughes not have invested more one on one time given how many claimed that Michkov’s talent was close to Bedard’s?

Then you go and throw in a completely irrelevant incident involving Briere’s son. Did Brière have anything to do with it? If you have kids, you should know that they may be prone to irresponsible acts. Does that make you a bad father? Does it impair Briere’s judgment as a GM? What the hell are you doing twisting a sorry incident like that to bash Brière? FWIW, excuses were presented and Brière did what any father would have done. His son learned a big lesson. Why bring this up? To make Reinbacher look better? Sheesh!

Do you have some kind of score to settle with Brière? You scraped the bottom of the barrel by bringing up the torch ceremony when he was a Hab. How do you know that he has anything to do with the role he played in it? How do you know that he was behind Lafleur handing him the torch? More important, how does a ceremonial act from many years ago, impact Briere’s capabilities as a GM? Completely ludicrous.

As for Brière passing up the Habs for a contract when in his prime, it’s been reported that he really wanted to come over but had a difficult decision on account of his wife being an American and not wanting to move.

Still feel like appealing to this management team’s authority after the way they handled the draft and the contradictory rationales they provided after the draft? How did you like Hughes telling us that Orville couldn’t run a 1st wave PP? That he did not project as a 1D? That they drafted by need with a 5th OA pick and may not have picked the BPA in a forward heavy draft? This was not “amateur hour” to you but Brière who nabbed Michkov without having to pay extra for the privilege, was an amateur?

You must love “culture” cause your good buddies Lapointe and Bobrov were serving it by the buckets and making it a dominating aspect of their drafting approach. What happened to emphasizing talent first and foremost? Culture edging out elite scoring talent, is that a winning recipe to you?

As for the scouting reports about Michkov’s alleged deficiencies that you read — did you have access to the Habs’ or the Flyers’ due diligence? Do you realize how limiting and limitative that kind of source is? Where are the multiple live viewings supporting those reports? Were you briefed on the analytics? Did you have scouting meetings? You’re going to trust random “reports” for a player from a country engaged in war that the professionals had trouble getting access to? Let me guess, you did all this from your couch using a laptop.

Clearly, the Flyers don’t believe that Michkov has “stagnated”. I think I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt over a fan piecing together the most absurd and disjointed of assumptions and claims from his living room.

I normally don’t answer posts with so much detail but my goodness, I couldn’t believe how far you went just to support a fantastical theory.

Talk to me once Michkov has performed in the NHL. We’ll see then if Brière was such a numbskull.

 

[sansabri]

why didn't SJ pick Michkov

 

[SlafySZN]

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I can't beleive you don't like Kopitar more than that. What does it takes for you to like a player? Gretz, Lemiou and McDavid? That's it? You still judge Kopitar according to his rank draft rather than what he accomplished.

I think he’s a great player and future HOFer.

So in your logic he was drafted after Price, so he is inferior.

???

No. Please show me where I said he wasn’t as good because he was drafted lower.

Eh-euhh. it's doesn't work like that if we look at retrospect, 16 years later like that. Forget where they were finally drafted, in what year, 2007, 2005 ? What the rank they were drafted have to do in the conversation?

If you want to argue that Kopitar is the better pick that’s up to you. I think you could make a case for it. Both are future HOF players. I’d take Price but if you want to say Kopitar that’s fine.

It doesn’t matter. Even if you’re getting the third best pick in the draft instead of the 2nd best it’s still a fantastic pick.

And most people are disingenuous when saying we should’ve taken Kopitar because they would’ve drafted Brule at the time.

It’d be like if in 15 years from now people cherry-pick a guy like Benson and ignore that they were screaming for Michkov.

 

[salbutera]

why didn't SJ pick Michkov

Their GM said they were concerned about not being able to see him play and some negative aspects to his game

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

why didn't SJ pick Michkov

Good question. They are 5 years from any chance at contending. No one thought Smith was as good as the top 3 but is he better than Michkov?

Good question. They are 5 years from any chance at contending. No one thought Smith was as good as the top 3 but is he better than Michkov?

Weren't there tapes of all his games available? How much more do you get from seeing him play in person??

 

[durojean]

Enormous upward trajectory and growth, statistically exceptional, and very clear development path. The development team is going to have a heyday with him over the next couple of years.

We have to consider that his progression came out of nowhere, which means that he started from scratch, which while makes it more impressive. It also could stop fairly fast and it looks probably more impressive than it really is.