With the end of August fast approaching, more Montreal Canadiens players are coming back to town in readiness for training camp. Yesterday, Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher was filmed skating in Brossard alongside Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, and Joe Veleno under the watchful eye of Adam Nicholas.
The 20-year-old right-shot defenseman will no doubt be hoping to stay healthy during training camp after being injured in a preseason game last year. With Noah Dobson’s arrival to replace David Savard on the blueline, the team can afford to send the youngster to the AHL with the Laval Rocket if they feel that he needs more seasoning, but chances are he would rather make the jump to the NHL this season.
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Dobson’s arrival has also meant that Logan Mailloux was dealt to the St. Louis Blues, leaving a pretty big hole in the Rocket’s defence corps. If the Canadiens were to send Reinbacher down to Laval, he would enjoy a lot of ice time in a setting that could potentially be more suited to his level of development.
The knee injury suffered in the preseason last year kept him out of action until the third week of February. When he did come back, the organization took a prudent approach with one of its most prized prospects since he was still experiencing some swelling in his knee. In 10 regular-season games with the Rocket, Reinbacher picked up five points and added another six in 13 postseason contests.
While the Canadiens do have some right-shot defensemen in the prospects pipeline, Mailloux’s trade leaves them with few NHL-ready options. However, one could argue Mailloux wasn’t even ready himself, but that’s a discussion for another time.
Whichever decision the Canadiens make on Reinbacher, the most important thing for his development will be to get plenty of ice time, and that starts with staying healthy. Hopefully, the injury ninja is ready to move on to another victim and allow the rearguard to work on his game.
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