Montreal Canadiens’ first-round pick at the 2023 draft, David Reinbacher, hasn’t had a lot of luck since being selected fifth overall by the Canadiens. Whether he played in Switzerland or in Canada, the injury bug has chased him around like Will E. Coyote chased the Roadrunner, but unlike the cartoon, the defenseman never escapes.
On January 24, he received a brutal hit against the Calgary Wranglers, left the game and went on to miss the Laval Rocket’s next five games. Given how many games he has already missed in his young career, it was good to see him back in action on Saturday when Pascal Vincent’s men took on the Cleveland Monsters.
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In the Rockets’ 4-1 win, Reinbacher registered an assist, took one shot, and finished the game with a plus-two rating. The performance was reassuring, but one fact remains: the Austrian has played only 34 of the Rockets’ 47 games this season, and the limited action is certainly not helping his development.
Jacob Fowler was in the net for Laval and stopped 22 of the 23 shots he received, which works out to a .957 save percentage. Since returning to Laval, the netminder has a 7-2-0 record, and it looks like the organization will have a big decision to make when it comes to goaltending this summer. The 21-year-old netminder showed in the 10 games he played with the Canadiens that he can handle himself in the NHL, and given how the season went between the pipes for the Habs, it’s likely that the youngster gets a chance to make the jump next season.
Meanwhile, Adam Engstrom has overtaken Reinbacher in the organizational depth chart, but luckily for the Austrian, the Swede is a left-shot defenseman and not a right-shot like him. However, with Bryce Pickford having an incredible season in the WHL, it looks like he’ll soon have a lot of competition.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
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