The timeline on the Montreal Canadiens’ rebuild has been moving along very quickly.
After three difficult years of sitting at the bottom of the league standings, the Habs returned to the postseason in 2024-25 in large part thanks to the development and maturation of their young core. Many of those players are only just scratching the surface, which has the future looking as bright as ever in Montreal.
With Ivan Demidov making his NHL debut late last season, most of the Canadiens’ best prospects have now arrived. However, the main one that’s still to come is 2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher.
The right-shot defenseman has spent some time with the AHL Laval Rocket over the last two years, and many are wondering how the organization is feeling about him and his development.
Sportsnet insider Eric Engels provided them with just that when answering questions for the Habs On Reddit thread on Monday night.
“I think management feels David Reinbacher has a very bright future with the team and that he’ll be a core member of it in short order. No one has told me a specific plan, but it’s obviously for him to show he belongs right now and do the best he possibly can no matter where he starts the season,” Engels said.
“Scouts I speak to love his game. They think he does things at his age that you have to teach most defensemen his age,” Engels added.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels on David Reinbacher:
“I think (Habs) management feels David Reinbacher has a very bright future with the team, and that he’ll be a core member of it in short order.”
👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/4NVB3YE1wz
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) September 8, 2025
The 20-year-old has yet to burn any time off his three-year, $2,659,998 entry-level contract signed back in 2023.
Reinbacher feels healthy again
After undergoing surgery for a knee injury suffered last preseason, David Reinbacher is back to being healthy and feeling like himself.
He spoke about it at last week’s NHLPA rookie showcase in Arlington, Virginia. TVA Sports shared some of his comments.
“I’m 100 percent now. My knee is very good. During the summer, I never felt any problems. I was happy to see that it was holding up. I changed my training plan; I wanted to try new things to strengthen my knee and avoid injuries. I hope this season will be an injury-free one; I’m really motivated,” Reinbacher said.
It’s great news for Reinbacher and the Canadiens as training camp approaches, where he’ll have the opportunity to prove whether he’s ready to join the big club or still needs a little more seasoning down in the minors.
