Matvei Michkov looks good, but why the David Reinbacher slander?

The Montreal Canadiens decided to draft David Reinbacher fifth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, a move to shore up their blueline.

But everybody knew that Matvei Michkov, despite all of the outside noise - Russian conflict, to be exact - was exactly what the Habs needed. But Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton and co. believed that Reinbacher was the best fit for the team. Now Reinbacher is currently rehabbing a surgically repaired left knee, keeping him out of action for five to six months, as of October 1.

Michkov on the other hand is leading the Calder Trophy race, with an impressive 17 points (eight goals and nine assists). He is every bit as dynamic as every scout and hockey analyst thought and he would be a tremendous addition in Montreal. But it didn't work out that way, is it a draft miss? 20 games into what would have been Michkov and Reinbacher's rookie season, Michkov is rolling.

But nobody seems to have any faith in the Habs brain trust, doubting what the architects of the current rebuild are doing. Reinbacher has yet to play a full season of professional hockey in North America with just 11 games on his resumé, and he is being written off. His development is taking a hit because he is going through rehab during essential development years.

He should be written off and viewed as the wrong pick because he isn't Michkov, but what if he turns out to be the Canadiens' number-one defender? Reinbacher has a lot of the tools and just needs some reps, he skates beautifully, thinks the game well and has some untapped offensive potential. I don't think he has the physicality of a Moritz Seider, but I think that he could look at Seider's journey and emulate some things.

The stature and coming through the German DEL, a league that is pretty on par with the NL. Seider is already a number one defensemen, and his attention to detail and size and skating combo are hard to handle. I think that he could be a player of a similar mould, maybe just less physical.

Give the kid a chance

I see many writing off Juraj Slafkovsky and wonder why, he is 20 years old and has plenty of time to develop and improve. I think the same can be said about Reinbacher, who is the same age, turning 20 on the 20th of October. He is nearly seven months younger than Slafkovsky, it is going to take some time for him to hit his potential.

I agree that it stings to see Michkov scoring and playing the way he has he would be a nice player to have. But I don't think confirming that Reinbacher will never become what the Canadiens envision him becoming is fair. Injuries are awful, but this professional athlete has the best doctors and therapists in the world to help him come back.

I would like to see him play and see how he impacts the team and adds to what is being built by Hughes and Gorton.