David Reinbacher realizes that it'll be a long road to earning a spot on the Montreal Canadiens' blueline. The Canadiens have Jordan Harris, Justin Barron, Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson, Adam Engstrom, Jayden Struble, and Arber Xhekaj fighting for a spot in the top-six with Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, and David Savard's role secured.
The math isn't easy to figure out, eight defensemen are battling for three spots. Some players on the list can be put as the seventh defenseman, so their math looks a bit better. However, one of those players isn't Reinbacher. If Reinbacher isn't a top-six defenseman or even a top-four, he would be better off going to Laval for a year of development and being the top guy.
Reinbacher surrounded himself with NHL talent to prepare for the Canadiens training camp. He spent the summer with Nico Hischier, Jonas Siegenthaler, Pius Suter, and Janis Moser, emphasizing hockey more. He pursued other interests in his Switzerland summers in the past, but this year was strictly about making the Canadiens.
Matvei Michkov's arrival in North America is a looming cloud for the Canadiens. The 2024-25 season has the potential for some toxic narratives among the fanbase if Michkov made an immediate impact with the Flyers and Reinbacher failed to get out of Laval. There's still a good chance that Reinbacher will spend the season in the AHL, but fans must be intrigued about his mindset.
"That's been my mentality, I trained for that all summer," said the prospect in an interview with TVASports.ca. "There will be a hot fight with the other guys that will be healthy and will push us to another level."