(BROSSARD, Que.) -- Nobody loves practice, but we can guarantee you that David Reinbacher was elated to be participating in one with the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
There was concern this would be a lost season for the defenceman, who was taken fifth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. It appeared to be confirmed when he was told it would take five-to-six months to recover from knee surgery on Oct. 1.
But Reinbacher’s graduation from solo skates over the last 14 days to practice on Monday — less than four months after his pre-season collision with Toronto’s Marshall Rifai put him under the knife — put an end to his delay in development.
There are no guarantees the 20-year-old will get into games with the Canadiens before the end of February, but what he’ll get out of these skates between now and then will enable him to regain footing in his progression. And you could tell what that means to him just by watching him go through this first one on Monday.
Brendan Gallagher, who’s fought through his fair share of long-term injuries over 12 years in the NHL, summarized it well.
“He’s been around all year,” Gallagher said. “But for him, mentally, it’s a big day...”
You can only imagine what Reinbacher’s mental state was after his dream of starting his NHL career was halted in such dramatic fashion.
To go from ramping up to needing a ramp is a terrible feeling.
Patrik Laine knows it. He and Reinbacher were both wheeled out of the Bell Centre within minutes of each other during that game in late September, and they were both stuck on crutches for weeks afterward.
“It’s a terrible feeling,” Laine said. “Arms definitely get tired, but it’s not ideal (mentally or physically). He had the crutches longer than I did, so for him it sucked even more. It just makes everything harder. I think he was, at times, by himself, so trying to get groceries or do anything that you need your legs for is impossible. Crutches everywhere is not easy.
“But I think he handled it really well and stayed positive the whole way.”
The Canadiens helped Reinbacher get through it, too.
Juraj Slafkovsky said the players included him in all team dinners in Montreal. And the coaches have included Reinbacher in team meetings and video meetings like they had done for all players who had suffered long-term injuries over the past couple of seasons.
Nothing beats getting back on the ice with the team, though.
“It gives you some sort of purpose and a way to contribute somehow,” said Laine, “but nothing replaces doing that. Still have to experience it on the ice and make those reads.”
Waiting at least another couple of weeks to do it was the original prescription for Reinbacher, but he has to be thrilled to be ahead of schedule.