Prospect Info: David Reinbacher

[CristianoRonaldo]

I wouldn't take those words too seriously. They clearly like him alot.

PR is part of the job. They're just managing expectations for the fans AND for the player himself.

Imagine Hugo told everyone "yea we see him as the next Lidstrom" lmao

"Hopefully, he will be a #1D, who can play in every situation and log significant minutes" Would have been fine, if he really thinks that...

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

I heard it from two credible sources yesterday. Friedman and Wyshinski both said this to be the case.

Think about it for a second. Mich probably knew he wasn’t top four. So that leaves Montreal, Arizona and then Philly. NOBODY wants to play in Arizona and he probably wanted American cash. So he lets it known he wants to go to Philly.

That makes sense to me.

Washington picking right after and Ovechkin was probably hes idol growing up they have tons of pictures together

and Montreal was always a city that russians loved because it reminded them of home even Ovy and Malkin have talked about coming here if it wasnt for being loyal to their teams

 

[SlafySZN]

Those professionals are very high on Reinbacher. They think he has the potential to be as good as the players he outplayed in his draft year: Josi, Heiskanen, Seider, Jiricek.

Hughes answered the question wrong. Stop focusing on that and focus on this amazing player the Habs drafted.

I’m starting to understand more and more.

I was focused on forward and offense so much i kinda ignored him but after researching on him and watched some games yesterday… i understand the vision.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Washington picking right after and Ovechkin was probably hes idol growing up they have tons of pictures together

Yes and im sure he would’ve gone there too. I think it was more of him sending a message to other clubs not to draft him without outright saying it.

 

[pepperMonkey]

It could be Montreal didn't express any interest in him. Doesn't seem like they had any interest in Michkov -- given their tone, posture, and so on.

They were one of the few that interviewed him. I would think, that shows that there was at least some level of interests...

 

[ReHabs]

They were one of the few that interviewed him. I would think, that shows that there was at least some level of interests...

Most likely due diligence but that's fine.

Hughes said he knew nothing about Michkov at the time of the draft lottery, it was clear the Habs were not very receptive to the notion of drafting Michkov. He wasn't good enough to impress the drafting genius pair of Lapointe and Bobrov.

Time will tell. It's not like Reinbacher is a bad prospect, he's a defensible pick for sure. I think they committed to "Top4 or Reinbacher" and then chilled out and didn't go out of their way for Michkov.

 

[Rapala]

No I don't think so. They are really small and it doesn't go far in PO. CC and nobody else of that size. CC is already an nhl player and he does fine. If we do 2 small players on our top 6, we'll be a small team that get pushed in PO. There are so many tall and fast skaters today in nhl. That's what we must find and developp, skilled fast tall players around 195-225 lbs.

Take a deep deep breath hold it and then let it out slowly through your nose. We started out with next to nothing we are building one piece at a time.
If you actually believe that this is the roster we end up going to war with I just don't know...

People complaining that we got a roster ready player in Newhook for low odds draft picks are clueless IMO. Just take a look at our roster and try to convince me Newhook isn't an upgrade on some of the crap we've been tasking our top 3 or 4 players to work with. No one expects it will be perfect but it is better than it was. There is a draft every year. Players get moved every year. UFA's and RFA's become available every year. We are building a WAR CHEST and once we get closer to a playoff team we can use it to fix weaknesses and fill roles that aren't working out. At least with this group they won't sit on their hands when that moment arrives.

 

[Canadienna]

Re: the Hate messages his instagram is getting a ton of love now. If you use social media I encourage you to send a supporting message. Flip the script!

 

[Nedved]

Seems like they took a bet on Reinbacher, the safe choice would have been Michkov.

I'm in the same camp about Reinbacher being a high risk pick. The safest option was trading back because if it falls through the blow is dampened by trying to add quality to depleted team. If Reinbacher doesn't pan out in a couple years our scouting staff is toast.

 

[HabzSauce]

"Hopefully, he will be a #1D, who can play in every situation and log significant minutes" Would have been fine, if he really thinks that...

Semantics bro. It's just an interview...

What's said behind closed doors is far more important to me than whatever pre-planned PR statements they give to the highly intelligent french media.

 

[sampollock]

THESE so called fans that give David hate messages, should be banned from the bell centre forever.
what a disgrace as a hab fan , make me sick

 

[Rapala]

Excellent post, I wish we could translate it in english for our Anglo friends.

Jamais ç'a été l'argument comme quoi Reinbacher deviendrait pas une machine qui mange des minutes et solidifie notre équipe. Le gars va rendre notre défense une des meilleures de la ligue sans aucun doute, parce que juste lui et Guhle c'est le rêve à la ligne bleue. Après ça t'ajoutes Hutson, Xhekaj, Barron, Mailloux, Engstrom pis ça donne quasiment le vertige, notre escouade défensive potentielle fait legit peur.

Est-ce qu'avoir une des meilleures brigades défensives vaut la peine de se passer de Michkov, un attaquant étoile assuré? Seulement le temps nous le dira. Dans tous les cas, les deux options sont alléchantes. At the end of the day, le choix d'hier a moins changé les chances des Habs de compétitionner pour la coupe que ce que la majorité croit. C'est cliché en esti, mais la défense que Hughes est en train de construire, ça pourrait être solide au point de mériter des championnats. Je répète : Guhle-boss la machine, Reinbacher le sage fougueux, Hutson le mage électrisant, Mailloux le marteau-piqueur, Xhekaj l'olympien à la force herculéene, Harris le scientifique en sarreau, Barron l'artisan-sculpteur hipster, et plusieurs autres que j'oublie. Tout est setté pour qu'on éblouisse la ligue avec notre défense. Caufield, Suze et Dach vont aimer se faire distribuer le biscuit par ces gars-là. Manque just un goaler pis on peut brasser la cage, je pense.

Nice on the one hand you wish you could translate it and then you proceed to add two additional paragraphs in french.

Works for me.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Re: the Hate messages his instagram is getting a ton of love now. If you use social media I encourage you to send a supporting message. Flip the script!

Even if you dislike the pick, please tell him for me that I am so happy he's a Montreal Canadiens and that I'm excited to cheer for him at the Bell Centre. I don't use those sites. Cheers!

THESE so called fans that give David hate messages, should be banned from the bell centre forever.
what a disgrace as a hab fan , make me sick

Couldn't agree more.

 

[ReHabs]

Seems like they took a bet on Reinbacher, the safe choice would have been Michkov.

I don't see how this claim is supported. They themselves intoned that Michkov was not interesting to the Habs because of all the unknown factors. That implies they felt Michkov wasn't the safe choice.

 

[Skip Bayless]

You can find the full clip in the article here: www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/canadiens-hughes-confident-reinbacher-will-make-his-name-unforgettable-in-montreal/

Hughes follows up by saying he's not big on putting numbers on players. "There's a powerplay defenseman--is he your #1? Or is somebody that's shutting the play down on one end and then launching the attack on the other end? So I think he has potential to log significant minutes for our team."

In an ideal world, if Hutson isn't running our powerplay, what value does he have have? Presumably he won't be playing big tough minutes. So let Hutson do his thing on the powerplay and let Reinbacher hopefully be our Pietrangelo everywhere else.

The reality is that Reinbacher QB'd the PP on his current team in the NL and stole someone's job. He definitely has the ability to run things in the man advantage.

But we also have Hutson and Mailloux who are mostly offensive D and who will depend on that type of ice time to have an impact in the NHL.

The NHL has also evolved into a one D per PP unit set up, as opposed to two Ds. So the role has become even more specialized.

We will have a situation where Reinbacher probably wont see much PP time, unless someone gets injured or one or many guys bust. Not because he's not capable, but because we are deep in talent.

So I think that's at the stem of Hughes reflection, the top EV Ds wont necessarily be the PP Ds. He wasn't assessing Reinbacher's skill set, but projecting his role on this team.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

"Hopefully, he will be a #1D, who can play in every situation and log significant minutes" Would have been fine, if he really thinks that...

You're right. He said the wrong thing. He sent the wrong message in the heat of the moment.

Nevertheless, the words aren't the issue. The microscope is the issue. People are looking for reasons to hate the pick, because they wanted Michkov and hate the pick already. If Hughes said something slightly misworded about some 4th round scrub nobody would care...

 

[Rapala]

I'll go even further...

It's probably best for EVERYONE'S mental health that they don't use Twitter/IG/etc.

What is Twitter? What is FaceBook? The closest I've ever gotten to those types of platforms is Linked-In. I get enough feed here.

 

[ReHabs]

You are the first person to say that overall he was the fifth best prospect in the draft, and that only Arizona passed on him.

Absolutely it was common knowledge that San José, Columbus and Anaheim had to decide on whether to pass on Michkov as he was being touted as "the equal talent-wise to Bedard, etc".

If you truly believe he was 5th best, it's no big deal for a team that is drafting fifth and knows he can't come over for 3 years, and may never come for all we know, to draft the 6th best player.

If you don't think Reinbacher is 6th best, then argue THAT point.

If you believe Michkov is second in talent but all the question marks drop him to precisely 5th, who says another reasonable person can't decide they drop him to 6th or lower?

So back to this 1D / 2D thing. In my view, a first pairing D can play 24-25+ minutes. It is not a REQUIREMENT they be the PP quarterback. If so, then Serge Savard, who was never a power play quarterback, would be disadvantaged in your draft ranking system.

If Reinbacher's potential is that of a first-pair D who can neutralize dangerous scoring chances, win pucks back from the attackers, transition the puck back up well equally with his feet or with a pass, kill penalties very well, and chip in offence with good legs and a great shot, then he is Roman Hamrlik++ and Hamrlik was a 1-OA.

Myself, I don't think Michkov will be the 110 point player some dream of, unless he cheats and cherry picks his way to that personal stat and gets lucky one year in four. NHL defences are too good against a guy without an extra gear and without the muscle to overcome determined defenders. I will be thrilled if Reinbacher is a great shutdown/possession D tilting the ice for 25 minutes per game as we compete for a cup, while allowing Hutson or Mailloux to shine on the PP -- even if Michkov makes the highlight reels from time to time. It's an opportunity cost I'm willing to pay given the flaws even YOU see that drop Michkov to 5th in your eyes.

I see a bit of Alex Galchenyuk in Michkov. Good dangler but not fast enough to beat NHL defenders, yet who racked up points at the Junior level. Not the highest compete level, not the top 2% in attitude. Better shot and release for sure, Caufield-like even, but Caufield, while great to have on your team, is not a "generational player who puts the whole team on his back". Even in a re-draft, Caufield may not get picked higher than Michkov was. It's close in my opinion.

Really, I'm ok with the Habs thought process. The player performances over the years will tell the tale.

I didn't say the 5th most talented prospect, I said the 5th BEST prospect. He was 5 on Bob Mac's list and in general the 4 ahead of him had less risk and less unknowns and better frames and better reputations which made their prospect profiles more attractive, or better, as it were.

It's fine to think Michkov doesn't have PPG in him. That's fine. I have nothing against Reinbacher other than the fact that I don't trust the Swiss League as much as some of you. Otherwise, Reinbacher is a fine prospect and he's not a reach.

The questions that should be asked is of the Habs organization and how they weigh a player they themselves claim is a "2D" versus the 5OA in a historically top-heavy draft. Maybe they think they can get a scoring forward through other means, maybe they think they can develop one in the hands of Adam Nicholas. It would be good to know.

 

[Kennerback]

I'm in the same camp about Reinbacher being a high risk pick. The safest option was trading back because if it falls through the blow is dampened by trying to add quality to depleted team. If Reinbacher doesn't pan out in a couple years our scouting staff is toast.

It will be much faster than that in this case... If Michkov starts destroying the KHL/RSL like Ovechkin and Malkin started doing the year after they were drafted, Reinbacher will need to show progress. I remember by the Crosby draft, the hockey world was already saying that the Penguins had a bonafide superstar still in Russia.

Unlike the Slafkovsky/Nemec/Wright/Jiricek draft which will take years to sort out, we're dealing with a potentially elite player that was slated to go 1st in many other drafts, things might go at a breakneck pace. Front office might be in hot water fast.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Oh, yes for sure.

If Dach and Slaf totally break out next year then i agree but i assumed they would still take some time to.

I think Dach is on the cusp of a break out and if Monahan has a healthy season, we will have 3 decent lines. For as much as I like Suzuki, I think Dach has better ability to carry the puck from on end to the other and handle contact.

Slaf playing with Monahan for a full season where he is not ragged dolled all over the roster like Chucky and KK were is a good thing. Key with Slaf will be how hungry he is to improve and how he comprehends his time/space and puck management in critical areas. He needs to figure out what kind of winger he wants to be. I think there is a bit of a Rantanen type in him.

No offense to RHP, Newhook, Farrell, Heineman but Roy and Beck are the two I am looking at in terms of moving the needle. If they reach their ceiling level as well, this forward group can cause some damage with that big/mobile D as the foundation.

 

[SlafySZN]

I think Dach is on the cusp of a break out and if Monahan has a healthy season, we will have 3 decent lines. For as much as I like Suzuki, I think Dach has better ability to carry the puck from on end to the other and handle contact.

Slaf playing with Monahan for a full season where he is not ragged dolled all over the roster like Chucky and KK were is a good thing. Key with Slaf will be how hungry he is to improve and how he comprehends his time/space and puck management in critical areas. He needs to figure out what kind of winger he wants to be. I think there is a bit of a Rantanen type in him.

Totally agree!

 

[tooji]

You find normal, the fact that the team who scouted Reinbacher the whole year, who has incentive to hype him up, because they passed on a probable superstar in Michkov, tells you that if everything goes well, he will be a #2D, who can't run the powerplay ? I don't... He may develop beyond expectations, but it's not a good sign.

It’s the job of a GM to manage expectations. it benefits no one to overhype him. It just puts unnecessary pressure on your new prospect in an already rabid market

 

[Habs Halifax]

Totally agree!

It might not end up like we want but our futures are in the best shape it has been in decades. We also have time to add to it. Key is to have a contender when Suzuki/Caufield are in their age 25-30 years.

It’s the job of a GM to manage expectations. it benefits no one to overhype him. It just puts unnecessary pressure on your new prospect in an already rabid market

Agreed. Under hyping and also over hyping are serious problems in the Montreal market with fans/media. It creates distractions and for as much as players say they don't listen to it, they hear it.

I think Gorton/Hughes/MSL know our past issues very well. You can clearly see them trying to manage the culture into a different direction. Fans/media will have to adjust

 

[themilosh]

I'm in the same camp about Reinbacher being a high risk pick. The safest option was trading back because if it falls through the blow is dampened by trying to add quality to depleted team. If Reinbacher doesn't pan out in a couple years our scouting staff is toast.

I would think any top 10 pick that "busts" from any organization's scouting crew should be fired.

If we trade back, then Arizona takes Reinbacher.. since it is obvious Habs wanted a #1D (right handed) or a Centreman (all big 4 taken) that would have left Leonard as the next best pick. While I see Leonard as a great pick (too) reality is you can't build a team on the wings. Defense - Middle ice - Goalie last piece.

The positional pick was the correct pick to make for what we require. weather or not Reinbacher is indeed the best RHD (or Dman outright) remains to be seen, but from all the D available I would say the scouting crew made the right choice.

There is an absence of quality RHD available in the league (and developing), that Reinbacher is a righty is of great importance to the asset value of our team as a collective. Similar in NFL, there is a premium on Left Tackles (LT) if you have a right handed QB.

 

[Schooner Guy]

You think our scouting staff did not account for that when they made their prediction about his ceiling ? Come on...

Didn't account for what?