Why The Canadiens Shouldn’t Draft Reinbacher at Five

When the Canadiens are on the clock next Wednesday for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, there’s a very good chance they will be picking fifth, despite their best efforts to move up. But even in that scenario, the Canadiens will still be able to select a very good player, perhaps even a franchise-altering one. But that still depends on the Habs making the “right” pick, as not every player available will be able to do that. And that’s why it’s imperative that when Kent Hughes walks up to that podium, he doesn’t call out David Reinbacher’s name.

First, let me start by saying that I believe David Reinbacher is a good hockey player. If the Canadiens were to pick him, they’d be getting a solid top-four right-shot defenseman, with the potential, albeit slim, to be a top-pairing guy, likely in a 1B role. And while that’s good, that’s not what the fifth overall pick should be spent on, especially in this draft class.

By most rankings, Reinbacher is the best defenseman in this draft class, but nobody has him ranked higher than six, with most having him in the 9-12 range. Selecting Reinbacher at five would be considered a reach by most services, which doesn’t automatically mean that it is, but it certainly puts more pressure on Reinbacher to pan out. The Canadiens, in the midst of a rebuild, cannot afford to leave quality talent on the board when selecting a player. And truthfully, that would be the case when selecting Reinbacher until proven otherwise.

And sure, the Canadiens are a little thin on the right side of their defense, but that doesn’t mean they should spend the fifth overall pick in a loaded offensive draft class on a right-shot defenseman. Because as I have said repeatedly, the Canadiens are in desperate need of a star offensive player, and they are in no place to turn one down when they have the chance to draft one. And regardless of how the first four picks go, offensive talent will be there.

If the Canadiens felt that this was such an area of need, they could’ve selected one of David Jiricek and Simon Nemec in last year’s draft, a weaker class, especially offensively, or they could wait another year, as the 2024 class appears to be rich with talent on the right side of the blue line. There really is no rhyme or reason for it to be this draft to select a defenseman above where they should go unless the Habs had just one need to address, but they don’t.

If you’re a Canadiens fan under the age of 30, you’ve seen a Canadien put up 82 points in a season once in your lifetime. You’ve never seen a Canadien score 40 goals, let alone 50, and you’ve never seen a player score 100 points while wearing a Canadiens uniform. You’re unique in this regard, in the worst way possible. No other fan of any other franchise can say that. None. That has to change. If you draft David Reinbacher, when Matvei Michkov will almost surely be available, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Now I’m a big believer in Matvei Michkov, and I think the Canadiens should take him, assuming he’s available at five. But even I understand there’s risk associated with that selection, which could scare some teams off. But even then, the Canadiens have said they’re going to take the best player available, not draft for need. David Reinbacher would not be the best player available, even if you ruled Michkov out. WithRyan Leonard and Zach Benson both still available, I don’t see how you can take Reinbacher.

If the Canadiens draft Reinbacher, it isn’t automatically a bad pick, but I think there’s a lot of pressure on him to succeed. It’s a tough sell to a fanbase starving for a star, a fanbase that seems to be mostly on board with Michkov, mind you, to take a defenseman. It’s been said that Reinbacher has shades of Moritz Seider in his game, which needs to be apparent with Reinbacher pretty quickly. Seider was considered a reach but almost immediately proved the Red Wings saw something most didn’t. You’d like for the same to be true for Reinbacher.

That doesn’t mean you aren’t patient with him, but there is no room to fail here. If you take a chance on him, especially at fifth overall, it needs to work. I think it’s easier to take a forward, ones that are ranked around five and might even have the chance to go number one in a less stacked draft class.

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