(Montreal, QC) -- BROSSARD, Que.— It was a tumultuous year for David Reinbacher, his first one under the scorching spotlight that comes with being a high-profile Montreal Canadiens prospect, and what he took from it are things that can only serve him well moving forward.
(Christinne Muschi/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The most critical lesson learned over the months that followed his selection at fifth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft is the one that will guide his immediate—and long-term—future.
“Don’t change for any person,” Reinbacher said following his first day on the ice at his second rookie camp with the team. “You’re here for a reason, they picked you for a reason.
Just gotta bring my work and do my job and show them what I can do, and that’s all.”
Nothing more, nothing less.
It’s almost antithetical to this whole process, in a sense. Every player comes to rookie camp angling to make it to the main one. They have limited runway to take off, just days to show off what separates them from the pack, and the temptation to step outside themselves is nearly impossible to ignore.
But Reinbacher’s best opportunity to stand out here is to ignore that temptation, and he knows it.
It wasn't the type of knowledge he went out seeking after first pulling on a Canadiens sweater a little over a year ago, back on a hot June day in Nashville. He wasn’t expecting the immediate backlash that came from a pocket of the fanbase—people flocking to Instagram with pitchforks and torches to vent their frustrations about the Canadiens passing over the rainbow-flavoured hockey Matvei Michkov might’ve provided instead of the vanilla brand Reinbacher would be offering—nor was he inviting it.
But that’s what Reinbacher got, and it’s hard not to think he’s better off for it now.
Perhaps the big Austrian would’ve traded his up-and-down season with Kloten HC for a banner one that saw him torch the Swiss-A League with highlight-reel plays. But without it he’d likely still be attempting to fulfill others’ expectations of the player he should be rather than his own, and that wouldn’t be helping him at this moment.
The Canadiens drafted Reinbacher to be stable and stalwart. They drafted him because he processed the game in a way so few defencemen have historically been capable of processing it as teenagers. They saw his strong, confident and calm nature as a determining factor in his future success with their organization, and they bet on it.
It was all tested once Reinbacher returned to Europe last fall, following a strong showing at Canadiens training camp.
He stumbled to start in Kloten, and the hockey team fumbled—inevitably plummeting to the bottom of the standings, leaving coaches and managers out of jobs and players frustrated.
But Reinbacher found his footing as the season wore on, even if the team didn’t. He stepped back into himself after trying so hard to be something he wasn’t, and he finished the season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket an improved player.
Reinbacher is a wiser player today, too, and it shows both on and off the ice.
On Thursday, Reinbacher’s pace and fluidity was apparent from the start of the first drill to the end of the last one. He appeared strong and confident and played within himself and, in the process, served up examples of what he later affirmed will be the recipe that brings him to the NHL sooner than later.
Reinbacher knows that if he makes the Canadiens out of main camp it won’t be because he exhibits the flair Lane Hutson or Logan Mailloux plays with. He knows his best chance of beating either player in the competition is remaining true to his brand.
“Everybody knows what my ace is,” he said. “Try to bring that every day now.”
That’s the right approach.
By: Eric Engels, Sportsnet