It somehow seems fitting that once we finally have a chance to introduce a defenseman, much less two, into the mix of the draft board, we simply can’t decide which we want to talk about first. Last week, we talked about Axel Sandin Pellikka, who broke onto the draft board in the 11th spot, but he isn’t occupying that spot alone.
David Reinbacher is, in short, a very exciting talent. A big (6’2, 187 pounds), right shooting defenseman who played the whole of his draft year in Switzerland’s top professional league, he put up excellent results on a not very strong overall team, and really turned heads with his play on the international stage, to boot. His stock has been rising steadily, and his is a complete package that might well entice a team to make a bit of a reach on him.
Pre-Draft Rankings:
No. 10 By Sportsnet
No. 12 by EliteProspects
No. 5 (European Skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 20 by Bob McKenzie
No. 17 by Scott Wheeler
Statistics
What’s there to like?
Reinbacher, overall, has a quite well rounded game. As a young player dropped into playing at a high level, with tough minutes, in a professional league, his defensive game is already solid. His awareness is good, he gaps up well both in the defensive zone and on the rush, with his size and long stick combining well to be a real asset here. He plays with physicality, doing well to bump opponents off the puck (and in turn, being hard to bump off pucks when he has them). He’s asserted himself as being particularly strong at standing up opponents at the blue line, killing rushes and forcing them to dump the puck in.
His skating isn’t perfect (more on that later), but the foundation he does have already is good. He’s a solid enough skater going both forwards and backwards, and has good speed once he gets moving. He’s shown some offensive pop in his game as well – his vision is excellent and he’s able to distribute well and find shooting lanes to flex a plus shot when the space opens up, making him a threat at even strength in the offensive zone as well as to run the point on a power play.
There’s also, on the whole, remarkably little panic in his game. Reinbacher is poised with the puck and not pressured easily by opponents. He also doesn’t get flustered when he gets beaten on an inital play, but rather sticks with it and keeps trying (and often succeeds) to win back the puck.
It’s also worth emphasizing, before we move on, that Reinbacher has spent a whole season as a 17/18 year old playing against men in Switzerland’s top professional league. And while the quality of competition isn’t quite as high as if he was playing in the SHL or KHL, for example, it’s still a very good sign that he was able to take a top-4 role with his team and run with it. He isn’t an overly flashy player, but there’s a lot in his toolkit that looks translatable to the NHL level.
What’s not to like?
As we mentioned already, Reinbacher has shown some puck skills, some ability to make plays, but he isn’t really especially dynamic in this area. We wouldn’t go so far as to call this an outright weakness in his game, but if a team is looking for a player who can start a lot of plays from the back end and be a big threat when activating in the offensive zone, Reinbacher wouldn’t be able to check those boxes for him. He can create space for that type of player, but he isn’t that guy himself.
Another small piece to note is that, while Reinbacher is a solid enough skater overall, it’s still an area where he can improve. His stride can look a bit stilted at times, which can lead him to getting caught a little flatfooted, and burned on the rush as a result.
There have also been some pundits that have pointed to his age in this equatioon as well – with his October birthday, he’s older than many of the players in this class, and as such has a little bit of a developmental leg up on some of the slightly younger players. Is that a dealbreaker? That’s for you to decide. But it’s worth making note of.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
The Flyers’ overall defense situation feels to be in a bit of flux at the moment – with the new upper management group taking over and seemingly being willing to listen to offers on just about anyone – so it’s hard to say how he’ll fit into their long term future because we don’t have a clear sense of what that looks like. But we digress.
In any event, Reinbacher would fill something of a positional gap in their pipeline, as beyond Ronnie Attard (who doesn’t feel far away from graduating to the NHL level) they don’t really have any right handed defenseman with legitimate NHL upside. But his addition into the mix would surely help them in a couple of areas. On the one hand, by adding a high end talent on the right side of their defense corps, it gives the whole group a boost. But it also takes a bit of pressure off of a player like Cam York, who has been playing on his off-side for much of the season, and would give then team a bit more flexibility to move him back over to the left side, if need be. It opens up a whole new world of possibility, as it were.
Can the Flyers actually get him?
This is a sneaky very interesting question. The rankings by scouts and pundits for Reinbacher are a little bit all over the place – it’s not a massive range that they’re covering, but they have suggested that he could go anywhere from the edge of the top-10 and the high 20’s – but even that might not be the complete story. Looking at just the pre-draft rankings we’ve talked about already, it would be safe to assume that Reinbacher would be on the board when the Flyers make their pick at seventh overall. But with Reinbacher’s profile as a big, right handed defenseman being a much sought after profile in the NHL, there feels like a real chance that a team ahead of the Flyers could be enticed to go off-board and grab him in what might otherwise seem to be a bit of a reach. We’ll see how this one shakes out.
What scouts are saying
Reinbacher’s got pro size, desired handedness, and a really strong foundation of tools that all but guarantee he’ll become an NHLer. I expect he’ll be the first defenceman picked when all is said and done, and it sounds like he’ll go as high as the top 10 (which I wouldn’t scoff at). Reinbacher’s a solid forward and backward skater (though he can look a little stilted at times) who gaps well and defends the rush effectively with a noticeably long stick. – Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
Mature and well-rounded defender who processes the game at a high level. More substance than flash but projects as a reliable top-four NHL defenseman. – Nick Richard, Dobber Prospects
Reinbacher may not wow you with the tools he has at his disposal, but he is a mobile, well-educated defenceman with some offensive upside and clear top-four potential. – Anton Rasegård, Habs Eyes On The Prize
Big news, folks! Since two players came off the poll at once with this tie, that means we get to introduce two new players to the poll today. Let’s meet them, shall we?
Nate Danielson
While Danielson’s development is still in progress, he brings quite a bit of quality tools to the table like his ability to generate quality speed in transition, his manipulation tactics to open up space for himself and quick decision making under pressure. Those tools allow him extremely effective at the WHL level and are going to come in handy once again at the NHL level. I have no doubt that Danielson is going to be an effective NHLer in a middle six role. The vision that Danielson has is going to lead to a lot of quality scoring chances in NHL play. He is going to be able to put pucks into high danger areas consistently because of how quick he is to identify space to use when traffic becomes daunting. Should he run out of options, he has a lethal shot that he can use from range. – Josh Tessler, Smaht Scouting
Matthew Wood
Wood is a very gifted offensive player. He has excellent one-on-one skills and offensive IQ. He has the ability to hold onto pucks for an extra second and knows how to beat defenders with skill. He also has an excellent wrist shot and one-timer, making him a major asset on the power play. Wood is a big winger as well, so the size/skill combo has a lot of upside. However, his skating is an issue as he lacks the ability to separate and the pace of the NHL will challenge him. – Corey Pronman, The Athletic
Who should be No. 13 on the Community Draft Board?
Previously on the 2023 Community Draft Board…
- Connor Bedard
- Adam Fantilli
- Matvei Michkov
- Leo Carlsson
- Will Smith
- Zach Benson
- Oliver Moore
- Dalibor Dvorsky
- Ryan Leonard
10. Eduard Sale
T-11. Axel Sandin-Pellikka
T-11. David Reinbacher
