David Reinbacher headlines Canadiens at final Olympic qualifying tournament

The Olympic qualification tournaments have a special meaning this year with NHLers returning at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. There will be three tournaments from August 29 to September 1, as 12 countries battle for three spots. The Canadiens will have representation from David Reinbacher and Vinzenz Rohrer as Team Austria travels to Bratislava to take on Slovakia, Hungary, and Kazakhstan.

The other two groups will see Latvia, Slovenia, and Ukraine playing in France and Great Britain, Japan, and Norway playing in Denmark. The nine teams with guaranteed spots are Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the United States.

David Reinbacher was Austria's best defenseman in two exhibition games against Slovenia last week. He had a goal, an assist, and 11 shots in 15 minutes per game. He may be their best defenseman, but Austria doesn't give him first-line minutes or put him into high-leverage situations.

Reinbacher is joined by Vinzenz Rohrer, who recently featured at the World Championships with Austria. He started the tournament hot with two assists in his first couple of games but slid down to a fourth-line role and didn't factor in against the better teams. He could play a starring role in this tournament against the lower-ranked teams before heading back to Switzerland to play his second season with the Zurich Lions.