David Reinbacher
A defensive-defenseman with great size and strength
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 185 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Position: Defense
Team: EHC Kloten (NL)
Nationality: Austria
The Draft Prospectus Ranking: #19
If Mikhail Gulyayev is the ideal offensive-defenseman, then David Reinbacher is his antithesis. When it comes down to playing defense, Reinbacher is an old-school, defense-first kind of blue liner. Though he’s produced well in the Swiss National League (NL), Reinbacher is a meat-and-potatoes type of guy, focusing on the fundamental more than flashy skill.
Playing with an EHC Kloten team that just sneaked into the playoffs, Reinbacher was the team's second-leading point producer among defensemen this season with 22 points (3 goals, 19 assists).
Named an alternate captain for Austria at the 2023 World Junior Championship, Reinbacher stood out as his nation's top performer despite his team being outscored 40-6, being relegated to the lower Division 1 for the 2024 tournament.
“Reinbacher is a force in transition, active in all three zones , and proficient at generating defensive stops. He’s a powerful, agile skater, but where he stands out for me is his commitment and ability to read the play and then react as a quality defensive-defenseman.” - Marek Novotry, Elite Prospects
Missing the first game of the relegation round against Latvia, Reinbacher tried to will his team to victory, logging two assists in a 4-2 defeat. His two assists were his only two points of the tournament - still good enough for third on the team.
With a population of just under nine million, the Alps nation has recently produced first-round talent in the NHL Draft. Last year, Marco Kasper (Detroit Red Wings) was selected eighth overall, and Marco Rossi (Minnesota Wild) heard his name called ninth overall in 2020.
Though Austrian forwards have found some success in the NHL, defensemen have seen far less. Once Reinbacher laces up the skates in an NHL game, he’ll look to be only the fourth Austrian to ever record a point at the sport's highest level. The current standard bearer for Austrian defensemen is Thomas Pöck, who recorded 17 points in 118 games from 2003-2009 with the NY Rangers and NY Islanders.
🥅 When watching Reinbacher, his offense isn’t his first discernible skill set, but he'll punish the opposition if his offensive game isn’t respected.
At 6’2", Reinbacher has relatively nimble feet. He can get going with decent speed and shows decisive edge work. He’s a far cry from Axel Sandin-Pelikka in this aspect, but still formidable. Reinbacher's capable of beating forwards on the forecheck with his stick skills before looking for one of his forwards breaking towards the offensive zone, hitting them in stride and on the attack. He showed this well during the WJC but didn’t have much to work with in terms of teammates.
As his numbers in the NL show, he’s not much of a threat to score but does possess dependable passing skills. His passing can earn him time on the power play, but being more of a threat to shoot from the point would make him more formidable in that position. With size like Reinbaher’s, much more power behind his shot would be expected, but he does get shots through to goal more often than not.
Though the NL isn’t the strongest league in Europe, playing there and earning minutes in a professional league is an exceptionally beneficial experience for Reinbacher. As the season progressed, Reinbacher earned the trust of his head coach more. In his first game of the season, Reinbacher saw only 7:56 of ice time. Ten games into the season, Reinbacher saw nearly 25 minutes, still two weeks shy of his 18th birthday.
Not only was ice time more available to Reinbacher his production improved as well. In his final 11 games, he added six more points to his season total.
🏒 Daunting size is the first thing you notice about Reinbacher in the defensive end. He’s not one to lay bone-crushing hits in open ice but will use his size to pin forwards to the boards and look for a teammate to retake possession. His physical game could use some work as he shy’s away from it more often than he should.
He closes gaps well in the neutral zone and likes to take away the middle of the ice forcing the forward towards the boards. His gap control is incredibly effective as he doesn’t allow the oncoming rusher the time or space to operate, forcing them to dump the puck or turn it over.
He can get caught puck-watching when he isn’t directly involved in the play. Too often does a forward slip behind him into a prime scoring position without Reinbacher being able to recover before the puck is in the back of the net.
📊 The critical thing Reinbacher has over Sandin Pellikka and Gulyayev is size and a good amount of it. He’s shown signs that he can become a top-4 defenseman with some work but lacks that star-studded offensive potential of the other two.
Reinbacher likely has the highest floor of any defenseman in this draft, as he should be a shoo-in to become a decade-plus defenseman in the NHL. While having some of the glitz and flare of an offensive defenseman is fantastic - having a hard-nosed two-way defenseman is just as important.
A team with one or two offensive-minded defensemen in their system may be more inclined to take a player like Reinbacher rather than a team with a depleted prospect pool. He could be the perfect tandem playing alongside someone with more offensive skill, as they could play off each other's strengths.
There’s no doubt Reinbacher could be the first defenseman off the board if he fell to the right team, with a high possibility he's selected in the top 10.
📈 📉 Rankings by Top Publications and Insiders
Sportsnet: 8
TSN/Bob McKenzie: 20
TSN/Craig Button: Not Ranked
EliteProspects: 12
The Hockey News: 15