I think the reasons for questioning Slaf vs Reinbacher are very different as there is no reasonable debate that would support Slaf looking anything other than lost and utterly confused on the ice. I repeatedly affirmed that he was a great prospect but it was yet to be determined whether it was a hardware O/S or software issue. Fortunately it appears to be more software related and his hardware appears to be fine as his O/S is being gradually updated to run the new software.
In Reinbacher's case it appears that the mental side of the game is a strength of his and he just needs to be patient and allow himself to progress rather than trying to do too much and expedite his development. The criticism is mostly from a profound misunderstanding of the development of defenceman and the effect that playing on poor, disorganized teams has on their gameplay. Typically, fans who do not have the acumen to visually identify this will lean far too heavily into stats without the ability to connect the nuances and context that are visually available but apparently indigestible to them.
I was always luke warm on Reinbacher at #5 as I could easily acknowledge that he is a very good RD prospect but I have never been sold on his offensive abilities and thought that the #5 OA slot was a little too rich for his skill level. That being said, it is hardly uncommon for dmen to make enormous leaps in development as the position is inherently difficult to scout due to the large relative developmental gap from prospect to NHL in comparison to forwards. Much like Slaf is learning to process entirely new concepts that he has never entertained for whatever reason, Reinbacher is learning how to play the offensive side of the game as he has been far more focused on the defensive side. This is not uncommon for kids with the characteristics and social makeup of David who is very team oriented. He is the opposite of many young top dmen prospects who are a little more gregarious and spotlight driven who need the offensive reigns pulled and are forced to learn the defensive side of the game. This is not to say that one approach is better than the other but personality drives the approach and it is possible that both methods may result in a fine two way NHL dman who can play on the PP and shut down the opposition's top line. It is just harder at times to bet on the kid who hasn't shown offensive dynamism to any significant degree.
All of the stat worshippers who were fawning over his point totals last year without any understanding of causality are understandably disappointed in his production but that is their problem and not his. Reinbacher's production was largely due to playing on a more cohesive team that was able to support and capitalize on his strong transitional game whereas this season that is just not the case. The stat gang would have you believe that he was going end to end last season and was the mastermind on the PP by the Josi comparison's when in fact that was demonstrably not the case at all.
I like Reinbacher and I do believe that he has the potential to be a top pairing dman and is a virtual lock to be at least a strong two way 2nd pairing dman. The criticism from our resident stat heads is very reminiscent of the criticism that McDonagh received around here even though he was clearly passing the eye test....at least he was to those who can see and don't rely on stats to build their bias.
