Montreal Canadiens: As With Any Draft Class, Some Players Take Longer

Montreal ‘fans’ have emerged as pundits, doubting Kent Hughes and his drafting with his third one ahead, and equally as important as the first two.

Zach Benson is wowing for the Buffalo Sabres, and the Canadiens selected David Reinbacher at fifth overall. Benson’s first NHL goal was a through-the-legs beauty. Reinbacher is in the Swiss NL, and the footage hasn’t shown anything glaringly impressive or worrying.

But production early like this isn’t a great indicator of what a player who is 18 years old will develop into. Reinbacher is still growing and maturing, he will grow into his 6’3” frame. Once he starts to build muscle and find his offensive, he could end up the Habs top pairing option in the future.

There are other players like Justin Barron, Logan Mailloux and Bogdan Konyushkov who are in the mix or will be over the coming years. So with that taken into consideration, Reinbacher can come up slowly and find his way with plenty of talented right-shot defenders in the group.

He wasn’t drafted to dangle through defensemen and goaltenders. So comparing him to offensive players is foolish. He was selected to fill in on the top pairing right side.

With the way he has started his season, it has been difficult to find much rhythm. He has skated well and made smart puck plays, but there have been some young player mistakes. Reinbacher returned to Switzerland to work, and he will be able to work some kinks out of his game before he turns professional.

The type of player that Reinbacher projects to be is a number-one defensive defender with some offensive touch. Say Victor Hedman style, obviously, Hedman is a Norris Trophy winner and fantastic two-way defender, so it’s not meant as a comparable producer. Just style, and perhaps he could benefit from shooting and rushing the puck or making a pass, just like Hedman would.

Lane Hutson can slot in beside him, which appears to solve another defensive pairing. I say this because Justin Barron and Kaiden Guhle are already playing a top four role together, just like at the World Juniors for Team Canada.

Anyway, I digress, I think that a pure offensive guy like Hutson, who has shown a willingness to defend would be a perfect partner. He will throw his body, but I expect he will top out at 5’10” and about 170-175 lbs, and just use his skating and hockey IQ to evade defenders à la Quinn Hughes. A head fake or quick weight shift to send the defender going one way, and plenty of open ice ahead, Hutson does it routinely with the BU Terriers.

There is a plan for this team, and we never truly know what Kent Hughes has in the works. He is quiet and methodical, always finding a way to benefit from his generosity and fairness with fellow general managers. Reinbacher fits the plan, and there are plenty of pieces piling up in the system.

The draft is in June, and there are plenty of draft picks. Hughes could leverage some of his wealth, both in the pipeline and in the form of a draft pick and goaltender for a big trade. A big fish or a first-round selection for the 2024 draft.

A goalscorer will join the team, but through the draft or not, Reinbacher is going to be there. The two will make magic together, and the Canadiens will be smiling. The kids are going to be all right.

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