David Reinbacher has his best chance yet to make the Canadiens roster
No Montreal Canadiens prospect has more to prove this season than David Reinbacher. He was a contentious pick when the Canadiens selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, passing on players like Matvei Michkov, Ryan Leonard, and Zachary Benson. Montreal went for a position of need, as they lacked right-shot defencemen. The last time the Canadiens drafted a position of need over the best player available was Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and that did not work out for the organization. Reinbacher’s Canadiens career has not started as planned. He has missed multiple stretches due to injury, slowing his development, but after a relatively healthy 2025-26 campaign that saw him make his NHL debut at the end of the season, he may not have a better chance to make the roster than right now.
The Canadiens know what they need from Reinbacher
When the Canadiens selected Reinbacher with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, he was not considered a flashy selection. He is not one of these new-age defencemen who bring forward-level production or dazzle with their puck-moving abilities. He was drafted to bring stability to the Canadiens’ defensive core. When Reinbacher was drafted, no one knew what Lane Hutson would become in the NHL, but after he burst onto the scene during the 2024-25 season, it looked like the Canadiens had found their defensive core of the future. Hutson is Montreal’s offensive catalyst on the blueline, and Reinbacher would be his well-rounded running mate. To a lesser extent, Reinbacher would be to Hutson what Devon Toews is to Cale Makar, but as of right now, that is not the case.
It is normal for defencemen to take longer to develop compared to forwards, but in Reinbacher’s case, his development has been slowed more by injuries than his actual play. His issue has been the pile-up of injuries. Injuries themselves are not the problem. Freak accidents do happen, but when they happen consistently, you start to question if the player is injury-prone, something that could get worse at the NHL level.
Reinbacher made his debut for the Laval Rocket at the end of 2023-24 after his season ended in Switzerland, and fit seamlessly into the lineup. The expectation was likely that he would play out the 2024-25 season with the Rocket before a late-season call-up to the Canadiens, but that was derailed before the season even kicked off. He injured his left knee in a preseason game, which required surgery, and he missed the first five months of the season. The next season started the same way for Reinbacher. In another preseason game, Reinbacher broke a bone in his hand, keeping him out of the lineup for a month. He remained healthy after that, playing in 57 games, recording five goals and 19 assists. His steady play throughout the season earned him a call-up in April when Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson went down with an injury. Now, after finally getting his first chance to play in the NHL, the Canadiens need Reinbacher to show he can do that full-time.
This has to be Reinbacher’s year
If there is a year for Reinbacher to make the team out of training camp, he may not have a better chance than he does right now. Alexandre Carrier felt like a steal trade when the Canadiens acquired him from the Nashville Predators in 2024, but after an up-and-down season, he may not have a guaranteed spot in the team’s lineup. Jayden Struble really has not made any significant improvements since debuting for the Canadiens in the 2023-24 season. The biggest question mark on the Canadiens blueline is Arber Xhekaj, who still has not agreed to a contract extension. If things do not progress between the Canadiens and Xhekaj, it could be the perfect opportunity for Reinbacher to steal a spot on the team’s roster in training camp.
Reinbacher’s time has to be now. The pressure is building for Reinbacher, especially considering he was the first defenceman off the board in the 2023 draft and many of the other players in the first round of his class have already cemented themselves on NHL rosters. He has shown, despite a limited two-game sample size, that he looks comfortable at the NHL level. With the question marks surrounding the Canadiens blueline, this may be his best chance to make the roster. He needs to prove in training camp that he provides more than Carrier, Struble, or Xhekaj can give to the Canadiens. The Canadiens spent a high-end draft pick on Reinbacher, and with just two NHL games under his belt, the pressure will only continue to build as he fights for a roster spot.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
