|
In Hainsight: With the Fifth Overall Pick the Canadiens Pick Reinbacher |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
The Canadiens might have made a lot of unhappy fans tonight, plenty were demanding that Kent Hughes and co. gamble on Russian wonder Matvei Michkov, others wanted another talented forward to bolster the top-6, but in the end, it’s Austrian’s defenseman David Reinbacher’s name that Carey Price called out, with a little help from Kent Hughes. Either Price didn’t remember the last name or didn’t know how to pronounce it, but he looked a lot like Ginette Reno giving a Felix to Capitole, by Funkie with Jay Scott. It was a nice touch to have Price in town for the pick, he was the last fifth overall pick the Canadiens made before opting for Reinbacher tonight.
The Canadiens’ new defenseman is a big boy, at 6’2” and 187 pounds and he played in the Swiss league last season, he’s already told Sportsnet that he still has a year of work and school before coming over, so Canadiens’ fans will have to be patient. Not Michkov patient, but still patient. Once more, Kent Hughes has shown himself to be a master of deception, keeping his cards close to his chest right up to the moment the Canadiens made the pick. In the last few weeks, he had said the Canadiens would be doing their due diligence on Michkov and had mentioned that he liked Ryan Leonard’s game and his grit which was reminiscent of the Tkatchuk brothers’ style of play, looks like he threw everybody of the scent.
Immediately after the selection, Hughes spoke on TVA Sports and said: “Our scouts loved Reinbacher from the start and his progression throughout the year.” The Canadiens thought he would be their pick this morning, though Hughes said they couldn’t be sure until the first four picks unfolded. The Canadiens’ general manager believes that he has just acquired a player that can give his team a good 12 years of hockey and that his blue line is now well established for the future.
One scout told The Hockey News of the young defenseman: “There’s really nothing bad to his game. He’s a good skater, he’s a good puck-mover, he has better than average skill, he has better than average compete, he has really good size, what’s not to like?” Reading the scouting reports, there seems to be concern about his offensive game which could prevent him from being a first pairing defenseman, some mention that his shot from the point is average.
For those asking why the Canadiens didn’t trade down, I believe it was the right move since the Coyotes also picked a defenseman with the 6th pick, had the Habs traded with Philadelphia, there’s no guarantee that Arizona wouldn’t have taken Reinbacher instead of Dimitry Simashev.
Time will tell if the Canadiens’ brass made the right move with that fifth overall pick, but judging by the flash poll I ran on Twitter a few hours before the draft, I’d say most fans were surprised by the selection.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»