Prospect Info: David Reinbacher

[Hinterland]

I'm horrible with player comparisons outside of the Habs org tbh. I don't think that's a bad comp though stylisitically. Hedman was seen as quite the phenom at the draft where many thought he should've gone ahead of Tavares(?) but yeah not as dynamic but similar style from what I know.

A couple months or so ago, I did quick and dirty looks on the 'big 5' (except Bedard cuz I didn't have the heart to know what I was missing) and besides Carlsson they all seemed so bloody question mark-y to me tbh. I'm pretty biased towards getting a flashy forward so I often don't look at D men. I figured I'd look at Reinbacher and I just couldn't help but like so much of his game. He just does a lot of things right that will make a team better. Again, people are allergic to 'safe' but when you see a guy who you just can't imagine him not being a top 4, that's hard to ignore.

I really tried to acknowledge my needs bias (I do kind of have it) and re-watch him and I did see some things here and there but they were just so minor. And I really think there's untapped offensive potential but again, he had Josi like numbers so it's not like some kind of big gamble-y question mark. He produced. He just does it in a kind of vanilla-ish way but in a way you just can't help but see translating to the bigs. Smart solid passing and a damn good/if not quite elite shot.

If people want to be pissed because they're wholly convinced Michkov is a can't miss stud, that's completely fine to me. But for people who think we just got a bum with limited upside, I think they're going to be proven wrong almost 100%. He just ticks way too many boxes.

What? Josi had 8 points in his draft season. Reinbacher had 12 primary assists alone. We don't need to talk about who had the better draft season. It's not close. As said many times, among defenseman drafted out of Europe, only Dahlin is close to Reinbacher in the entire history of hockey. Keep in mind Reinbacher did it with a bad team that just got promoted. (he helped them achieve promotion, played two pro seasons already)
Also, him and his d partner got the toughest assignments and were the lone plus players on the team. Even the high scoring imports who got the easy assignments and quality minutes like offensive zone starrs were all minus players.

 

[Belial]

This is a disastrous pick.

A disastrous pick would be a player that would never play in the league!

I'm pretty sure this kid will play in the league...

 

[River Meadow]

I've heard all kinds of crazy comparables for this guy tonight from the cope crowd. I've heard Pietrangelo, Josi, Hedman, Seider... All of which are nuts.

As of right now, he's a Better, less physical Kaiden Guhle. No more, no less.

Yes, his point production is not atrocious, but, as with Slafkovsky (who wasn't a godawful prospect despite his abysmal production), production never tells the whole story. (and Reinbacher's 3 goals aren't anything to write home about either.)

As of right now, he does not have the offensive upside of any of the aforementioned players. His shot is lacking, his passing is ok. While he joins the rush, he doesn't seem to have any elite offensive instincts. He's just there offensively. He's also not as physical as his size or some of the pundits that clearly haven't watched him would have you believe.

This would be a fine player to draft... say... post Dvorsky. But not at 5 in a stacked forward draft and certainly not above a game-breaking talent.

This is a disastrous pick.

But um..

tbf look at Josi's production in his draft year.

 

[Toene]

Lol, but the stats do tell the story, that's the hilarious thing. His NHLe is better than Slafkovsky's was last year, even without accounting for position. His production is better than Quinn Hughes' when accounting for league quality.

People just don't know what they're looking at.

It's sometimes hard to really wrap one's head around what production in a given league means compared to another, especially between euro leagues, Im guilty of this myself btw. People look at some DY CHL defenseman get close to ppg and are more wowed than when looking at a 22pts in 46 statline. It's a common and frankly somewhat understandable mistake.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Honestly I needed a whole evening/night to chill out, and that interview with Faillé really reassured me. I haven't had time to look at prospects as much as I hoped this year because of school so I mostly watched highlights and progression curves and read reports and shit.
His stats are very impressive, and I've stated on here previously :

NLA is a strong league, better than Liiga imo. Now imagine if we got a mobile 6'2 center with this statline on a meh team in Liiga. We'd be creaming our pants. But he's a defenseman, and then you add the skating, the transition game, the maturity and the amazing defense and it starts to get very exciting.

Hughes stated their 3 main criterias were character (yup), compete and hockey sense. Well, the interview seems to have gone really well, and the last two are some of DR's strong qualities.

What did that interview say if you don't mind me asking? I don't speak French.

I've heard all kinds of crazy comparables for this guy tonight from the cope crowd. I've heard Pietrangelo, Josi, Hedman, Seider... All of which are nuts.

As of right now, he's a Better, less physical Kaiden Guhle. No more, no less.

Yes, his point production is not atrocious, but, as with Slafkovsky (who wasn't a godawful prospect despite his abysmal production), production never tells the whole story. (and Reinbacher's 3 goals aren't anything to write home about either.)

As of right now, he does not have the offensive upside of any of the aforementioned players. His shot is lacking, his passing is ok. While he joins the rush, he doesn't seem to have any elite offensive instincts. He's just there offensively. He's also not as physical as his size or some of the pundits that clearly haven't watched him would have you believe.

This would be a fine player to draft... say... post Dvorsky. But not at 5 in a stacked forward draft and certainly not above a game-breaking talent.

This is a disastrous pick.

Sure

What? Josi had 8 points in his draft season. Reinbacher had 12 primary assists alone. We don't need to talk about who had the better draft season. It's not close. As said many times, among defenseman drafted out of Europe, only Dahlin is close to Reinbacher in the entire history of hockey. Keep in mind Reinbacher did it with a bad team that just got promoted. (he helped them achieve promotion, played two pro seasons already)
Also, him and his d partner got the toughest assignments and were the lone plus players on the team. Even the high scoring imports who got the easy assignments and quality minutes like offensive zone starrs were all minus players.

I forgot that someone corrected that earlier this night that Josi outpaced him in his D+1 year. My bad. Even better!

 

[Kennerback]

I've had this concern myself and I think it is very valid. But the more I watch him and remind myself that he's playing against men the more I'm convinced of top pairing upside.

I just watched a bunch of videos and he's just so bloody mobile and disruptive in his own end. He's got stuff to work on positioning wise and what not but for it to be as good and effective as it is playing in the Swiss league as a kid is just really damn impressive.

And I think there's just a lot of semantics happening here. How big is the gap between 'well' and 'exceptional'? I don't think he does a lot of things 'well' so much as he does them really damn well. And doing them really damn well as a (broken record I know) kid in a men's league. A men's league that also seems to be rising in stature. If he was playing junior aged kids, he could look all the more dominant.

But all in all I think you're outlining a very valid concern of his ultimate upside and for taking him at 5.

I’ll compare it to Subban. As an NHL prospect he had exceptional speed and energy (he became heavier later and lost some of that). He had a 100 mph slap shot that he could consistently put on net. He could go end to end on a whim. He could be physical, loud, cocky and grating. The guy had star written all over him. Reinbacher will hit his stride and we’ll see how far his mobility can take him.

 

[Toene]

What did that interview say if you don't mind me asking? I don't speak French.

Came over as the youngest kid on a club full if grown men and was quiet at first, but as the year went on he adapted and gained confidence and towards the end he manned the PP and played in all situations, was their best dman. Great skating, great work ethic, etc.

Faillé said he specifically accepted the interview because he was reading the meltdown online after the pick and wanted to give his version. Had only praise for him.

 

[Toene]

But um..

tbf look at Josi's production in his draft year.

View attachment 723336

To be fair, Reinbacher is an October bday while Josi is a June, so DR was ~8 months older during his draft year.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Came over as the youngest kid on a club full if grown men and was quiet at first, but as the year went on he adapted and gained confidence and towards the end he manned the PP and played in all situations, was their best dman. Great skating, great work ethic, etc.

Faillé said he specifically accepted the interview because he was reading the meltdown online after the pick and wanted to give his version. Had only praise for him.

Awesome. Thanks.

 

[salbutera]

This level of in-depth, in-person scouting is what the Canadiens lacked on Matvei Michkov, who went two picks later to the Philadelphia Flyers at No. 7. Hughes said that was the major red flag for them. It wasn’t his contract with SKA St. Petersburg, it wasn’t the geopolitical landscape. It was that they hadn’t seen him play other than on video, and video never tells the whole story.

And the Canadiens weren’t alone.

“We had some concerns,” said San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier, who passed on Michkov at No. 4. “He’s a special talent on the ice, there’s no doubt about it. Super skilled, can do things a lot of other players can’t. But there are some things that we weren’t completely satisfied with to be able to take someone with the fourth pick.”

The Arizona Coyotes also passed on Michkov at No. 6, not to mention the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jacketspicking ahead of the Sharks.

New Flyers GM Daniel Brière didn’t pass.

“We took a big swing, but we hope that this turns out to be a home run,” he said. “Time will tell and it’s a little early, but we feel when he’s ready to come, he could really be a difference maker. And that’s the risk that we were willing to take, to wait a little bit to hopefully have a difference maker on our hands.”

Just as Hughes’ two comments six weeks apart sounded conflicting, so do those two comments from two NHL GMs said a few minutes apart.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

I would say his shot is better than his goal total would suggest.

It's ok, but nothing to write home about. As you said somewhere else, 2nd pairing D is probably his floor. 2nd shutdown defenseman is probably his ceiling. But Hedman he is not.

Lmao.

Best of all time, comparable to a 90pt NHLer's D+1 output ----> ''not atrocious''

I might be so bold as to say that it is not the worst production ever.

It's 3 goals and 19 assists. Let's not go crazy here.

What did that interview say if you don't mind me asking? I don't speak French.

Sure

I forgot that someone corrected that earlier this night that Josi outpaced him in his D+1 year. My bad. Even better!

You know, I remember you (and Larek) from the old Habfans boards. Aren't you tired of this boring defensive safeness we've been engaging in for 30 years? How has the worked out for us? Vegas showed up 6 years ago, engaged in competent roster building, and now have a cup to their name.

Doubt it. There was no backlash for any of the Russians and on aggregate they went higher than expected. “Backlash” is nonsense spewed by idiots much like the “headhunters in the AHL means Slafkovsky has to play in the NHL” nonsense. Baseless rationalizations at best — poorly hidden discrimination and racism otherwise.

We saw a lot of commentary here and from the media that was essentially “Russians are icky” and I am glad the NHL professionals thoroughly pissed all over that discriminatory construct.

Molson is a horrible f***ing owner, much worse than many of the other ones. I'm sure his panties were in a knot after the Mailloux controversy a few years ago. I hope that we are one day rid of him. Maybe then, I'll take a look at the team again.

Ah, Here's Arpon Cucksu to to do some shilling damage control for his meal ticket.

 

[Archijerej]

I get people being mad for not selecting Michkov.

What I don't get is a potential #1RHD, who absolutely crushed Europe statistically by historical standards, is somehow a meh prospect.

It is not Craig Rivet or Nate Schmidt we are aiming at here.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I think he’ll be a good smart middle pairing guy one day. To me his floor is close to his ceiling. I can’t see imagine him as a bottom line D. He’s too good of a skater. His shot is too good. He’ll produce more than a bottom pairing. He has a good defensive sense.

A legit top pairing D needs one or two exceptional qualities. Some are very mean or very physical. Have brilliant offensive timing. Can go end to end.
He’s physical in that he uses his body but more in making good choices when pinning or putting his body in the way.

Hé has some of the classic Swiss Army knife cliché. He does a bit of everything well, but does not excel in any one. Unless one of those exceptional traits arises at some point in time, he’ll be a 2nd pairing RD one day.

The floor/ceiling conversation is uber subjective and loosely defined. No player actually has an absolute floor/ceiling but more of a likely range of outcomes. When I watch Reinbacher I see his floor as something close to a RHD version of Gavrikov which would be a complimentary 2nd pairing D or a very good number five who carries the 3rd pairing. His ceiling, if all goes exceedingly well is closer to Pietrangelo which is a number one RHD. These two projections are probably not the most likely scenarios but they are possible imo.

I think he is more likely to fall somewhere ranging from a number three like Hanifin or a 1b/2 like Eric Desjardins.

I almost used Kulak as a left handed comparable for a bottom tier/ worst case scenario, but this board is triggered enough as it is already without me poking the bear lol

 

[Belial]

I get people being mad for not selecting Michkov.

What I don't get is a potential #1RHD, who absolutely crushed Europe statistically by historical standards, is somehow a meh prospect.

It is not Craig Rivet or Nate Schmidt we are aiming at here.

Fake news mate!

We passed on the next generational 100+ points forward! what are you even talking about?

 

[NotProkofievian]

It's 3 goals and 19 assists. Let's not go crazy here.

We know what relative production is worth league by league. David's is worth a lot.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

We know what relative production is worth league by league. David's is worth a lot.

I just don't see any of the tools that translate into NHL production.

 

[Belial]

I just don't see any of the tools that translate into NHL production.

 

[Barnaby]

This isn’t a sexy or exciting pick, but I’m guessing it goes down like Seider. Unhappy on draft day then 2 years later not shutting up about the guy people a potential star ad nauseam.

Today you may not be happy, but you will be… unless Michkov really is that special.

I do think the Newhook trade didn’t help. If you grabbed a nice forward there then DR would be easier to accept. Newhook may work out but it’s not “exciting today.”

 

[NotProkofievian]

I just don't see any of the tools that translate into NHL production.

Cool. I do. We'll see who's right in a few years.

 

[Belial]

Cool. I do. We'll see who's right in a few years.

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

Seider is the exception, not the norm...

 

[Twisted Sinister]

View attachment 723339

Dude, he's wasn't even the best defensemen in the draft for many people. I'm not alone. You can take your condescension and shove it if you can't be civil.

Cool. I do. We'll see who's right in a few years.

Ah yes, the wait and see approach. That's definitely worked out for us. Sorry bud, not waiting around for the hopes and dreams this time.

 

[TheTriad]

How funny, last time MTL picked a RHD named David in the 1st RND.....it was Mr. Fischer and 2 picks later, Philly selected Claude Giroux.

Let's just hope that history doesn't repeat itself...

 

[Belial]

Dude, he's wasn't even the best defensemen in the draft for many people. I'm not alone. You can take your condescension and shove it if you can't be civil.

He was the consensus #1 D in the draft! Why are you trying to make shit up?

 

[Twisted Sinister]

How funny, last time MTL picked a RHD named David.....it was Mr. Fischer and 2 picks later, Philly selected Claude Giroux.

Let's just hope that history doesn't repeat itself...

One thing's for sure is the we won't be able to mock them for the Caufield/York draft fiasco. They one-upped us this time.