Several Montreal Canadiens scouts felt they missed an entire opportunity by not selecting David Reinbacher at the fifth level of the last draft.
The Austrian defender’s skills and competitiveness convinced the Habs to choose him over another player, who appeared to be the organization’s original target, as we saw in a short documentary broadcast on CH’s YouTube channel on Thursday learned.
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We can see the various staff members arguing a few days before the draft meeting that took place in Buffalo. We quickly understand that a player whose name was deleted and Reinbacher shared the favor of the Montreal team. Ultimately, what counted was the good feedback from the scouts based in Europe.
“I saw him under pressure. We saw the playoff games. They were tough games and they tried to destroy him. I never once saw him come back with the puck or panic,” explained Tommy Lehman, a Swedish scout.
“Everyone talks about his defensive game, but in my opinion he is also something special in attack,” replied Michal Kupra, the Canadian’s Eastern Europe expert. He’s so good on the power play, he moves well, he reads the game well. He controls the action with his passes.
The head of player personnel and head of amateur recruitment, Martin Lapointe, also praised the 18-year-old young man who plays in Switzerland.
“When we saw Reinbacher play, I saw his competitiveness, his defensive skills. He wants to win more than anything. He’s not selfish,” the former hockey player recalled.
A few days after the amateur auction, on July 5th, the 1.88 meter tall, 75 kilogram back signed his three-year contract in the National League.