Reinbacher’s time is approaching for the Canadiens, if the health holds

The Montreal Canadiens are looking for a long-awaited turning point from David Reinbacher, the Austrian right-shot defenseman they selected fifth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. A year-by-year wait can be a product of both development and circumstance, but the storyline around Reinbacher has leaned heavily toward one theme: injuries have interrupted his momentum since his draft class entered the pro system.

In a preview of what the Canadiens should expect next, Yahoo Sports frames 2026-27 as the moment Reinbacher needs to show he can convert potential into impact. The report describes him as a 21-year-old blueliner who, while still not fully established in Montreal’s top group, is at the stage where “making the roster” becomes the practical objective rather than the theoretical one.

The injury context is central, though the framing matters. Yahoo Sports suggests the setbacks have come more from bad luck than from an underlying pattern of being “injury-prone,” and that distinction is important for how an organization plans minutes and expectations. In other words, if the Canadiens treat his limitations as temporary and situational rather than chronic, they can justify asking him to take bigger strides without reducing the sample size of his NHL-ready work.

For Montreal, the development task is not just about surviving practices and games. It is about building a reliable defensive identity in an NHL environment, where lapses tend to become high-leverage events and where a defenseman’s spacing, gap control, and puck-support timing must be consistent night after night. Reinbacher’s opportunity, as outlined in the preview, would represent the payoff of the Canadiens’ investment in a right-handed shot defenseman they prioritized early in the 2023 draft.

Reinbacher’s upside is partly structural. A team’s success in the modern NHL often depends on having a balanced set of defenders who can handle different responsibilities, including skating transitions and controlling the middle of the ice. If he can remain healthy and take on regular minutes, he could become part of the group that supports Montreal’s broader on-ice patterns late in games, not only as a prospect being developed, but as a player trusted in defined roles.

There is, however, a necessary caveat: prospects do not “arrive” on a single date, even when the calendar points toward a roster push. The Canadiens, like every NHL team, must weigh workload, practice-to-game readiness, and the fit of any defenseman’s style into the team’s defensive scheme. Even if the underlying health risk is closer to bad luck than chronic, the adjustment period from draft pedigree to NHL regular can still include bumps.

What to watch as the season gets closer is relatively straightforward. First, monitor whether Reinbacher stays on the ice consistently, because availability is the prerequisite for any evaluation to matter. Second, look for signs that his role expands from limited stints into a more stable position within Montreal’s defensive rotations. If those two conditions hold, the roster conversation that surrounds him becomes less speculative and more immediate, and the Canadiens gain a key piece in their long-term retooling picture.