Picture by Steven Ellis
When it was introduced that defenseman David Reinbacher could be enjoying for the Montreal Canadiens’ crew on the Buffalo Prospects Problem, some Habs followers questioned the choice. In spite of everything, Reinbacher might have been again in Switzerland together with his membership crew Kloten, the place the season has already started, enjoying towards males once more.
However watching the fifth general choose within the 2023 draft go well with up for Montreal’s children in a marquee matchup towards the hometown Sabres prospects on Friday put all of it into perspective. Sure, Reinbacher has some great instruments, however he additionally wanted to see what the North American recreation was all about.
“It is crucial,” stated coach J-F Houle, who additionally leads AHL Laval behind the bench. “It is good for him to get to know the extent of play. I believed he had a good recreation; he is a giant boy who can skate and he made some first rate performs on the market. It provides him a little bit little bit of expertise of professional hockey down right here. For all the children it is good to have video games like this.”
The Sabres children blitzed Montreal 6-3 in that first recreation, with Matt Savoie doing a selected quantity of harm offensively. Defensively, the Canadiens did not look very sharp and large names reminiscent of Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux undoubtedly shared a few of the blame in that class.
However there are a selection of caveats right here, for Reinbacher specifically: First, it was all people’s first actual motion of the season. Second, it was his first time enjoying an actual North American recreation. Sure, Reinbacher had performed on the smaller North American ice on the world juniors in Halifax and Moncton, however he was on an outgunned Austria squad that hardly ever had the puck – and if you do not have the puck, then you do not actually must take care of a forecheck.
Reinbacher was knocked on his bottom a few instances in that Buffalo recreation however, once more: He wanted to see what the sport is like over right here.
“It was exhausting for positive,” he stated. “It is smaller (ice) right here and extra expert. The blokes wished to point out they’re the fitting children on the market. I simply tried to behave regular, do my factor as at all times. I favored the expertise.”
The pace of the sport was one thing else Reinbacher was in a position to get a deal with on and faster decision-making is one thing numerous Europeans have to regulate to over right here. On the optimistic aspect of the ledger, it is fairly apparent that Reinbacher does certainly have the skating acumen to be an efficient two-way blueliner sooner or later and his shot is fairly strong too. His body is large and as soon as he will get stronger, he’ll be robust to take care of. Within the meantime he took his lumps, however he wasn’t shocked by the physicality of the sport.
“They go exhausting, they are going for a job,” Reinbacher stated. “It isn’t like hockey on a Sunday, on the market on Easter.”
The teenager did admit to being nervous earlier than the Buffalo recreation, which is fairly comprehensible given the franchise he was representing.
“It is an enormous honor for me to placed on the Habs jersey,” he stated. “For positive you are nervous, however it goes away fairly fast.”
The belief is that Reinbacher will return to Kloten this season and given how younger the Montreal blueline was final yr, it makes probably the most sense to permit him to develop in a cushty state of affairs in a European league that provides some fairly first rate competitors.
However the classes he can take from his transient sojourn in Buffalo can be essential. Reinbacher famous that he might want to find time for himself in small areas of the ice as soon as he comes over right here once more and undoubtedly he’ll preserve a few of the different subtleties in thoughts as he performs this season. The Habs had a bunch of huge weapons within the crowd on Friday, together with GM Kent Hughes, government VP of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, coach Marty St-Louis and particular advisor Vincent Lecavalier. It is at all times good to get a have a look at your newest high choose in a brand new setting, however it was additionally nice for Reinbacher to get his first style of life over right here.
Information Abstract:
- Why David Reinbacher Wanted a Style of North America
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