David Reinbacher’s performance was not the focus in his season debut Wednesday night.
Instead, it had more to do with the 20-year-old Austrian defenceman returning to play, sooner than expected, following his serious knee injury last September that required surgery.
“I think I played pretty good. I think it was quite all right, the first impression,” Reinbacher told reporters after the Laval Rocket’s 5-4 loss to the Manitoba Moose at Place Bell.
The Canadiens announced Wednesday morning that Reinbacher, selected fifth overall in 2023, was being loaned to their AHL affiliate. Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent said the 6-foot-3, 209-pounder would be a welcome addition to his injury-ravaged team against the Moose.
Reinbacher’s stat line wasn’t pretty.
He was on the ice for the first four Manitoba goals, including the opener, which was scored on the power play — Reinbacher blocked the initial shot, only to see the rebound converted. And a turnover by the young defenceman eventually resulted in the visitors’ fourth goal.
Reinbacher finished at minus-2 and failed to register a shot. He started the game on the Rocket’s second defence pairing, teamed with veteran Tyler Wotherspoon, before playing with Adam Engstrom in the third period.
More importantly, he drew Vincent’s post-game praise along with favourable comments from his teammates.
“I thought he was our best defenceman the first half of the game,” Vincent told the media. “His reads … killing plays … the first pass … his ability to anticipate what was happening in front of him. I was very impressed with him.
“He asks questions, and his questions are advanced for a guy who only played 11 games with us last year. He’ll probably play on the power play.”
Reinbacher made his North American debut for the Rocket late last season, scoring two goals and five points in 11 games. He probably was headed back to Laval to start this season, but those plans were scuttled after suffering meniscus damage to his left knee in the opening seconds of an NHL exhibition game against Toronto on Sept. 28. Reinbacher was taken into the boards by Marshall Rifai following the opening faceoff and had to be assisted into the clinic by Canadiens therapists, unable to put weight on his knee.
He had surgery within days and was expected to miss between five and six months. Instead, he returned in less than five.
“I have to work on a lot of things,” Reinbacher told journalists after Wednesday’s game. “For sure the timing, the speed reaction. It’s fast on the ice and I have to be ready. I think I did a good job on some of the reads and had a couple of good looks. I just tried to help the team. Starting with a loss is not what I wanted.
“I was ready to play,” he added. “I felt comfortable in the first period right away. I got a lot of trust from the coaches. Hockey is a game and there are failures. I just try to take the positives out of it.”
Reinbacher’s teammates said he performed admirably under the circumstances.
“For his first game back it was good,” said Sean Farrell, who had two assists in the game. “It was definitely going to be difficult coming back after a long layoff, but I think there’s a lot of things he does well. He moves the puck, makes smart decisions and he’ll only get better.”
With six regulars — Brandon Gignac, Laurent Dauphin, Xavier Simoneau, Luke Tuch, Gustav Lindstrom and Vincent Arseneau — missing due to injuries, Vincent dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen against Manitoba. The Rocket has recalled forwards Alex Beaucage and Logan Nijhoff from ECHL Trois-Rivières to complete its roster.
Laval (31-14-3) is second in the North Division, one point behind Rochester, but has lost three of its last four, while allowing 19 goals.
Defenceman Logan Mailloux paced the Rocket with two goals and an assist against Manitoba. Alex Barré-Boulet and Noel Hoefenmayer also scored. Laval outshot the visitors 34-22, but goaltender Connor Hughes allowed five goals on the first 18 shots he faced.
The teams meet again Friday night at Place Bell (7 p.m., RDS). Laval travels to play Syracuse Saturday night.