I remember that some teams were trying to get the Habs pick but don’t recall what Brière was going to do other than being really positive about Michkov, who he took out for several hours with other members of the Flyers.
I respect that you have a different opinion on Reinbacher but I can’t get there at this time.
It was well documented when the Gauthier trade went down that they had tried to move Gauthier for 5 at the draft and that they were going to use the pick on Reinbacher if they had it. We all know Arizona wanted Reinbacher which is why they pivoted to Simashev when the pick was in. Nashville had the crowd and media buzzing when they were trying to trade up, that trade up talk stopped the minute the Habs selection was in. Pronman (who guessed the draft correctly up to the Willander pick) also mentioned for weeks after the combine that the smoke around Reinbacher was real and that teams calling Montreal to get to 5 - would be calling for Reinbacher and not Michkov. Everything after the draft surmises that was true.
So Reinbacher being labeled as an 'overreach' is just not a true statement. He was going there for 9/10 teams that had that pick. Now, we know players bust all the time, so Reinbacher could still bust or underwhelm, but that doesn't make the pick a reach. The same can be true of Fantilli's hockey sense limiting him from being more than a 2nd liner, we just don't know yet.
I also don't expect you to change your opinion, we all have differing ones, this place would be boring otherwise. I do feel it necessary to push back against some narratives that sometimes get passed around as fact when they aren't. I've been victimized by the same thing in the past.
So when you use the names of Scott Wheeler to accentuate your opinion, it's necessary we understand the biases. Wheeler doesn't like defenseman like Reinbacher, he likes defenseman like Morgan Rielly. I personally prefer the Reinbacher defenseman because their value is high when it matters most.
If you are expecting or hoping for the Dahlin level offense out of Reinbacher, you're not going to get it and if anyone believed that (not saying you did) then they just duped themselves. Reinbacher produces offense in the way that McDonagh, Suter, Weber and Pietrangelo produce offense. I'd take every one of those guys ahead of the Rielly's of the world.
The question will be can Reinbacher find the consistency in his defensive game and the consistency in his offensive game to be a first pairing defenseman or will it move him down to the role of a 4/5 defenseman. There's no question this guy is a NHL talent at defense.
