With the trade deadline over and the Montreal Canadiens closer to the bottom five of the league than a wild card spot, there isn’t much for fans to be excited about. The best that can be done now is to hope for competitive hockey and a good drafting position while watching young players like Jurj Slafkovsky develop and improve their game.
Related: Recapping Kent Hughes’s First 3 Deadlines as Canadiens GM
With other leagues worldwide coming to the end of their seasons, there is hope that some of Montreal’s high-end prospects can finally show their stuff with the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge. It may only be for a couple of games, but it gives everyone a chance to see players they have been waiting for in NHL action.
Canadiens Top 2023 Draft Pick Reinbacher Could be in Montreal by the End of the Season
The Canadiens surprised everyone when they drafted defenceman David Reinbacher fifth overall in the 2023 Draft. The draft was heavy with offensive talent, which the Habs desperately needed. Instead of drafting one of the high-profile forwards, the Canadien’s general manager (GM) Kent Hughes threw a curveball. Reinbacher was the best defenceman in the draft, and several other teams wanted to draft him in the top ten. A big, hard-nosed player, Reinbacher has incredible defensive agility, excellent skating, quality shots, and a high hockey IQ. Montreal was high on his defensive ability, but believes he is much better offensively than he is given credit for – the hope is that he will be a perfect defensive partner for Lane Hutson, who is projected to be a top offensive defenceman in the league. Reinbacher currently plays with ECH Kolten in the Swiss National League (NL) where he has been playing professional hockey since he was 17 years old.
Kloten had one of its worst seasons in the NL, finishing 17-35 and second last in the league. The team was a mess all season, having used three coaches and none finding much success. Their 108 goals for (GF) were the least in the league and their 177 goals against (GA) were the most. Reinbacher’s numbers suffered; he scored only 11 points in 35 games, half of what he scored in his draft year. Reinbacher also sustained a knee injury, causing him to miss 17 games, and it took him some time to find his game when he returned. There is hope that he can come to North America as soon as possible and escape the turmoil that Kolten has been through this season. There are, however, a few issues with that: though Kolten finished second last in the league, they still need to play a best-of-seven series with the last-place team, Ajoie, to determine which team stays in the NL and who gets demoted to the Swiss League which is the NL version of the American Hockey League (AHL).
The best-of-seven series begins March 16th, and if Kolten wins, he will be eligible to join Montreal or the Laval Rocket as soon as it’s over near the end of March. If they lose, Kolten will need to play another best-of-seven series with the winner of the Swiss League Championships in another best-of-seven series. Reinbacher could join Montreal or Laval before the end of their regular seasons on April 18th and 20th, respectively. There is a chance he could come as early as March 16th, but it’s a long shot. Only two Swiss League teams have the financial security and arena to join the NL: Visp and Olten. If neither of these teams wins the Championship, which should end no later than March 15th, then there will be no need for the playouts, and the NL season for Kolten will be over.
Canadiens Hutson Breaking Records and Eyeing the NHL
When the Canadiens drafted Lane Hutson in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, they were shocked that he fell in their lap. Hutson has always been viewed as a highly-skilled, offensive-minded defenceman. He was over a point-per-game player with the United States Hockey League (USHL) and the National Team Development Program (NTDP), scoring 27 points in 20 games and 63 points in 60 games, respectively. There was no question about his future in the NHL, except that he was listed as 5’8″ and under 150 lbs. His size scared a lot of teams away, and if it wasn’t for that he probably would have been drafted very early in the first round. During his draft interviews and combine, Hutson did have a note from his doctor saying he had a rare genetic disorder that made his bones grow slowly and that he could quickly grow three more inches over the next couple of years. Luckily for the Canadiens, the other teams still passed on to him.
Since Hutson joined Boston University (BU), he has done nothing but break records and prove he should be among the NHL’s top offensive defencemen. In his first year of college, he became the first defenceman to lead Hockey East in scoring 48 points in 39 games, breaking NHL Hall of Famer Brian Leech’s scoring record for the highest-scoring freshman in hockey history. He was also runner-up to Hockey East Player of the Year. He was named Tournament MVP for the 2023 Hockey East men’s ice hockey tournament, leading BU to victory and a seat in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national tournament called the Final Four. He has followed up his freshman season with another stellar offensive season, scoring 43 points in 32 games. He also helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the World Junior Championship (WJC), scoring six points in seven games and playing an excellent defensive game.
BU has the second-best record in the Hockey East and will play in their men’s tournament again this season. The Hockey East tournament consists of four rounds, all single elimination. The first round starts on March 13th, with the final round played on March 23rd. If BU loses their first game then Hutson could be in Montreal as early as the 14th or 15th of March, if they win and lose the next round it could be March 17th or 18th. If BU goes all the way to the fourth round but loses then he can join the Canadiens as early as the 24th of March, if they win the tournament, then they play the Final Four and you won’t see Hutson until near the very end of the NHL season.
The likelihood that Reinbacher or Hutson see NHL action in March is slim, both players will probably play until the end of March and be able to come to Montreal sometime in April and get a game or two with the Canadiens. Hughes could also decide just to have them play in Laval if he wants, although if he wants Hutson to sign an entry-level contract at the end of his NCAA season, then a promise to play a game or two in the NHL will probably happen. Whatever happens, both players should get at least a cup of coffee with Montreal or Laval before they fight to become permanent fixtures with the Habs in 2024-25.