​As we continue our Montreal Canadiens draft reviews, we move to one of the most polarizing weekends since general manager Kent Hughes took the reins from the previous regime: the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. It marked a stark departure from the 2022 draft, which stands out as one of the franchise’s strongest recent hauls. Not only did Montreal land Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick, but they also ended up selecting what many deemed the best player in the class, phenom Lane Hutson, at 62nd overall. Admittedly, the Canadiens no longer enjoyed the privilege of picking first again in 2023, yet holding a top-five selection still typically affords a strong chance to add an impact player. We all understand the high stakes of first-round selections, especially given how Bergevin’s tenure saw multiple misfires that left the team with little sustained prospect development for more than a decade.
Times change, but given this is a relatively recent draft, it’s important to remember that prospect development isn’t a straight line. We can’t simply judge the value of the 2023 class by how many players have reached the NHL so soon. Instead, we should evaluate the extent of their progress since being drafted to gain insight into their evolving potential. The central focus of this piece is Montreal’s fifth overall pick, defenceman David Reinbacher, around whom much of the discussion will revolve.
There’s no denying Reinbacher entered the draft with a notable amount of potential; many teams considered him the best available blueliner. Yet it’s impossible to overlook that he has not yet earned a regular spot in the NHL. He’s a right-handed defenceman, a trait that often translates into higher perceived value and can justify giving him more time to develop toward his ceiling. Reinbacher did receive a two-game audition at season’s end when the regular defensemen needed a rest and the team had already clinched a playoff berth. In that brief stint, he logged a total of 26 minutes and 17 seconds of ice time, a small, low-stakes trial run rather than a definitive evaluation of his readiness.
Evaluating him relative to his peers is nuanced. Not every top-five pick develops at the same pace, and it would be a mistake to point to other players selected in the top five as a direct measure of Reinbacher’s stagnation or progress. Eight other defencemen selected in the draft have already accrued more NHL experience than he has, including several taken in later rounds who reached the NHL earlier than he did. It’s a reminder that development timelines vary widely and that early return on investment isn’t uniform across players.
Goalies often require even longer development periods than defencemen, and yet Jacob Fowler, chosen in the third round of the same draft, has already appeared in 17 games for the Canadiens. This underscores how differently paths can unfold for players within the same cohort. Injuries have clearly hindered Reinbacher’s progression as well, complicating the evaluation further. His 2023-24 season in Europe, with EHC Kloten in the Swiss League, added another layer of complexity to his development arc, as he navigated a period of instability away from Montreal.
The Canadiens had hoped Reinbacher would establish a foothold of stability abroad that could translate into stronger performance in North America. Instead, that transition proved challenging, and the journey toward realizing his full potential has continued to unfold with the uncertainties and interruptions that young players often encounter. In short, while Reinbacher’s skill set and draft position suggested a high ceiling, his path to NHL legitimacy has been less straightforward than many anticipated, shaped by a combination of the natural pace of development for defencemen, the realities of a right-handed blueliner’s adjustment, and the injuries and off-ice circumstances that disrupted his momentum.
As we assess the broader class beyond Reinbacher, it’s crucial to maintain a balanced perspective on how to measure progress. A fresh draft is not a finished product, and early NHL exposure—particularly for players from the 2023 class—does not automatically equate to eventual success or failure. Prospect development is a dynamic, non-linear process, and the true impact of this draft will become clearer only as more time passes and the players’ trajectories reveal themselves. The story remains to be written, with Reinbacher as a central figure in the ongoing evaluation of Montreal’s 2023 selections and their long-term implications for the franchise’s competitive future.