Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher has been referred to as many different things, with the fifth overall selection of the Habs sitting atop the list.
If you skip down one or two spots, no lower than the fifth most popular thing that he has been called, you will find that he isn’t overly physical. That is unless he has to be, and his opponent found that out the hard way during a Swiss NL league game.
Reinbacher stood beside Nathan Beaulieu, and after Reinbacher manhandled his opponent, Beaulieu stepped in to help. It was a great moment for two reasons, it’s nostalgic seeing Beaulieu and Reinbacher is the more physical of the two. Number two Beaulieu is 6’2” and 200 lbs, and Reinbacher appears to tower over his defensive partner.
A smooth skater with solid puck skills, and great lateral mobility who is still maturing, that describes Reinbacher pretty accurately. He can create offence and his vision fuels his playmaking, while he challenges defenders with his combination of size and speed with open ice. He also has a solid shot, but we haven’t seen much physicality from him, mostly because it’s a less physical style of hockey in Europe, skill and strong skating take precedence over the rough stuff.
That’s not to say that Reinbacher won’t be more of a physical player in the NHL, he is a big kid. The 18-year-old is nearly 6’4”, and 215 lbs, and he is learning how to play physically and handle bigger, stronger opponents.
I still don’t expect him to be a physical menace like Arber Xhekaj for example. However, it’s promising to see that he has no issue getting his hands dirty, while still impacting the game with his skating and smart decision-making, kind of like Kaiden Guhle. Offensively it’s tough to gauge what he will become, but he is poised at the blue line, with his head up constantly scanning, and presenting as a shooting threat.
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