It’s finally September, and for NHL fans, that means that they will finally have hockey to watch this month. It will be training camps, preseason games and prospect showcases, but it is still NHL hockey. For Montreal Canadiens fans, it begins now as the NHL prospect showcase has kicked off in Washington, D.C.
Related: Canadiens Training Camp Poised for Intense Competition at Centre
The NHL’s official trading card partner, Upper Deck, is hosting the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. The 2023 fifth overall pick will be joined by players such as Tij Iginla, Ryan Leonard and 2025 first overall selection, Matthew Schaefer. The event serves as a means for Upper Deck to take official photos and video clips for promotional purposes ahead of the season. Yet for Canadiens fans, it means an official kick-off to the 2025-26 season, and provides the first glimpses of David Reinbacher, who is poised for an important season.
Reinbacher Serves Notice
For many fans, the assumption was that Ivan Demidov, the player that top Canadian sportsbooks place as the odds-on favourite to win the Calder Trophy as the 2025-26 NHL Rookie of the Year, would have been the player selected to represent the Canadiens. However, this does provide a glimpse into how deep the prospect pool for Montreal is, as it was instead a different fifth overall draft pick, Reinbacher, who was selected. Last season, both Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux (now with the St. Louis Blues) represented the Canadiens.
David Reinbacher, Montreal Canadiens (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)
Reinbacher, Montreal’s top defence prospect, missed nearly six months last season after undergoing surgery for an injury sustained in training camp. Instead of rushing him back into game action, the Canadiens’ development team took a patient approach, focusing instead on his recovery and allowing him to adjust to the pace of the American Hockey League (AHL) as he remained with the Laval Rocket. He played only 10 regular-season games, scoring two goals and five points. He followed that up with some stellar play in the playoffs, scoring two goals and six points in 13 games while playing heavy minutes in all situations.
The 20-year-old Austrian-born defender showed the potential that prompted the Canadiens to select him with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Despite playing in limited games last season, that promise shone through and earned him an invite to the 2025 Rookie Showcase, which should also provide him with a much-needed boost of confidence heading into the main training camp.
Expectation on Canadiens’ Prospect
While the eyes of Canadiens’ fans are on if Carey Price will be traded as Marco D’Amico of RG.org has made clear is the current focus of the team’s management staff, it doesn’t stop fans from also focusing on the young Austrian defenceman. Even with only 21 AHL regular-season games under his belt, expectations for the 6-foot-2, 192-pound right-hander remain high. Many fans and media are picturing him completing the top-four in Montreal on a pairing with Hutson. While that sounds like a good match based on their skill sets, it may be a little premature. Reinbacher should be given a full season with Laval, playing top-pairing minutes, to allow him to continue strengthening himself, but also refine his game.
Reinbacher’s style of play is built upon his mobility and reach, which he uses to provide a rock-solid defensive foundation. He has excellent gap control, especially at top speeds going through the neutral zone. He can build speed while skating backwards, which is why providing him more time to strengthen his core and base is vital to his development. Also, his offensive game is just starting to show; allowing him more AHL time to refine that part of his game will only help Montreal in the long run. His overall style may seem like that of Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi, and for good reason, Reinbacher models himself after him.
Like Reinbacher, Josi has health concerns, but it didn’t stop Nashville from signing him to an eight-year deal. This further highlights the importance of playing time, including the playoff experience he gained in Laval, which will be towards his eventual graduation to the Canadiens’ roster. Even with the missed time, Reinbacher is seen as a can’t-miss prospect, especially in the eyes of his head coach in Laval, Pascal Vincent, who reassured fans in a French-language interview with the Journal de Montreal.
“What I can say is that he has too much talent and too much potential for it not to work. He is an excellent hockey player with a great head for the game. He will be just fine.”
– Pascal Vincent (Reinbacher a «trop de talent pour que ça ne fonctionne pas», selon Pascal Vincent, Journal de Montreal, Dave Lévesque, May 7, 2025)
Reinbacher’s health and progression will be a crucial part of the franchise’s long-term plans. A big, mobile defenceman with a calming presence, excellent defensive play and growing offensive instincts is ideal to add to an NHL blue line that includes Hutson, Kaiden Guhle and Noah Dobson. Those four could become the basis of one of the NHL’s best defensive groups.
Reinbacher is finally healthy and ready to contribute, taking important steps in his progression into an NHL defender. His adaptability and desire to improve will prove to be a key piece in Montreal taking that next step towards their goal of being a consistent, contending team.
