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Scott Wheeler of The Athletic has just delivered an interesting verdict involving several young players, including Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Reinbacher.In his latest article, he attempted the exercise of redoing the order of the 2023 NHL Draft, based on what we obviously know today about all of those players.
In short, if the draft were held again today, what would the new order look like?
As for David Reinbacher, he falls to 16th overall in The Athletic’s revised 2023 NHL Draft, a notable drop for the defenseman who was originally selected fifth overall by the Canadiens.
The exercise, written by Scott Wheeler and published this morning, revisits the 2023 draft class with three years of hindsight.
And the Austrian’s name is at the center of the debate.
The 16th pick in the original 2023 draft belonged to the Calgary Flames, who in this scenario would select David Reinbacher instead of Samuel Honzek.
It’s still a higher ranking than some might expect, though.
Reinbacher didn’t fall to the bottom of the rankings, far from it.
He still carries considerable value.
Kent Hughes bet on him with the fifth overall pick, and Wheeler now, unsurprisingly, has someone else going to the Canadiens at that spot.
A name you’re very familiar with.
In this revised scenario, the Canadiens end up selecting Matvei Michkov with the fifth overall pick.
A drop that reignites the debate over the Canadiens’ 2023 draft pick
Three years later, every Canadiens fan now has a strong opinion on the selection of David Reinbacher, and this drop to 16th overall is sure to add fuel to the debate.
That said, Reinbacher’s story is far from finished.
Defensemen often take longer to develop than forwards, and injuries have only added to the challenge.
Reinbacher still has plenty of time to prove this 16th-overall ranking wrong and remind everyone why the Canadiens believed in him.
His development will tell the rest of the story.
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2023 NHL re-draft reignites debate over Kent Hughes’ David Reinbacher pick
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