The Montreal Canadiens drafted David Reinbacher with the 5th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
While he was a very high draft pick, the Canadiens knew he would not be joining them immediately, and he was destined to play one more season in Switzerland. That is exactly what happened as he was loaned back to EHC Kloten in the top league in Switzerland for this season.
Reinbacher's team struggled, and their regular season ended with them missing the playoffs. The question now is whether their season is over, or if they still have to play a relegation series before they officially conclude their 2023-24 calendar.
We will learn their fate later today. It is a pretty unique scenario, but one that has large repurcussions for the Canadiens prospect. His Kloten team finished second last in the National League standings and oculd face relegation to the Swiss League which is the tier 2 pro league in Switzerland.
However, not every team in the Swiss league is approved to be promoted to the top league. In fact, only two teams applied and were approved to possibly move up next season and those teams were Visp and Olten. In order to get moved up to the top league, these teams would need to win their Swiss league playoffs.
Visp however, has been eliminated already in the semifinals. Olten is still alive, but play Game 7 of their semifinal series today. If they lose, Reinbacher's Swiss season is over and he is free to join the Laval Rocket immediately.
If Olten win today and advance to the Swiss league final, Reinbacher's Kloten club would need to play a Best-of-7 relegation series which would take about two weeks and delay his North American debut until late March or even early April if the series goes the distance.
Hopefully things go well today and Reinbacher is able to join the Rocket for their playoff drive in the next few days. So, go GCK Lions go!! Puck drop is at 2:45 PM EST so we will know around supper time if Reinbacher has been freed.