When a lanky, 16-year-old David Reinbacher showed up with a crop of junior players to one of EHC Kloten’s pro team’s practices midway through the 2021-22 season, there wasn’t even a proper spot for him to sit in the locker room, so he took a seat on a chair by a pillar.
He was shy and didn’t say much, but he was listening, trying to fit in as a 16-year-old on a men’s team.
“Good kid, quiet, humble, very polite and very happy and excited to be with us at that point,” Jeff Tomlinson, then-coach of EHC Kloten, said of his first impression of Reinbacher. “I said, ‘Look, I want to see him play.’ And then he got on the ice and he wasn’t so quiet anymore.”
Tomlinson decided the Kloten junior club wouldn’t be getting him back.
“We played him in a game and he was one of our best defensemen,” Tomlinson remembers.
Reinbacher was the best for a reason. In fact, a lot of things stood out about him: His patience. His poise. The consistency with which he plays.
If you ask Larry Mitchell, general manager of EHC Kloten, what stands out most, he’ll mention Reinbacher’s mobility as a 6-foot-2 defenseman, and that he’s more skilled with his stick than a lot of NHL players.
“I think he has the best stick out of any defenseman on our team and probably, you know, maybe even top 10 or 12 in our league,” Mitchell said. “As an 18-year-old kid, he has an uncanny ability to build plays and break up plays with his stick. He always leads with a stick when he’s trying to kill plays in the corner. He didn’t lose a lot of battles towards the end of the season when we got into the important games towards the end and the playoffs.”
If you ask Tomlinson, he’ll say what’s impressed him most is how he’s handled the attention that comes with being the top defensive prospect of the upcoming 2023 draft.
“With all the scouts in the stands — 23 scouts on any given night — and for him just to go about his business and keep, I would say, exceeding expectations, that was just shocking to me,” Tomlinson said.
Reinbacher was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens with the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, making him the highest-ever drafted Austrian defenseman and tying Thomas Vanek for the highest-drafted Austrian player in NHL history. Vanek was drafted at No. 5 in 2003 by the Buffalo Sabres.
If you ask Reinbacher how much that means to him, he’ll probably point to how important it’s been for him to stay humble throughout the entire process.
“I just like staying humble, getting a lane not too high and not too low,” Reinbacher said. “I just try to focus on myself.”
Carey Price forgot the Canadiens’ first round pick’s name (David Reinbacher) ????
Reinbacher played as a youth in Switzerland before joining Kloten’s junior club at 15. He made his debut for Kloten’s pro ranks in 2021-22, appearing in 27 regular-season games and 14 playoff games, helping Kloten move up to the National League, the top tier in Swiss hockey.
He’d return for the entirety of the 2022-23 season as the team’s youngest player — and arguably its best blueliner. In what Reinbacher described as a “pretty special” year, he saw his time on ice grow from six minutes to over 20 a game, something he didn’t necessarily anticipate would happen.
And as his minutes continued to rise, so did his stock ahead of the NHL Draft in Nashville as a highly sought-after two-way defenseman.
Reinbacher describes himself as a breakout defenseman who tries to feed the offensive guys. He has a long stick, is calm with the puck and can play offense as well.
He knows when to make the pass to a teammate or when nobody’s there. He has the ability to hold on to the puck and wait for his teammates to get free, or to move his feet and hold on to the puck until someone gets open.
In the offensive zone, he’s good at getting pucks to the net and has been working hard on his shot, which will surely only continue to improve as he gets older and stronger. He has a confidence with the puck that shines through — a confidence Reinbacher says really strengthened over the course of last season.
While he isn’t an overly physical player, he isn’t afraid to mix in some physicality to win a puck battle and he won’t shy away from battles — something Mitchell says Reinbacher has continued to work at as his confidence has grown over his past pro season.
“When I first got here, you were able to give David a cross-check. You were able to give him a face wash after the whistle. By the end of the season, there was a lot more pushback,” said Mitchell.
It’s something Tomlinson has of course noticed as well, especially in contrast with the shy, polite 16-year-old whom he first met at practice last season.
“I really like his confidence level with the puck. He knows when to make it toe drag even. I’m not a big fan of guys making toe drags, wrestling off the ice in the neutral zone. But it seemed like when he did it, it was a good play. So, I just really loved the combination of his patience and his confidence to make a play under pressure,” said Tomlinson.
“It was fun to watch him come out of his shell more and more and more to the point where I would hear him talking in the locker room when I would be walking through there to go get a coffee. I would hear him kind of initiating a conversation. So that was fun because I knew he felt comfortable. He talks about being humble and all that. But you know what? He is one of the more humble kids I’ve ever coached.”
When Mitchell took over as GM of Kloten’s men’s team in November, he had of course already heard about “the hotshot Reinbacher kid.” When he finally watched him play, he was reminded of Tim Stützle, who played in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) — where Mitchell, who was born in Germany, worked as a sporting director — before getting drafted to the Ottawa Senators.
“I had seen a lot of kids over the years who tried to get their feet wet playing amongst men and playing amongst pros. And some of them did it better than others,” said Mitchell. “I was working in the DEL when he came in and he might be the last guy other than David that had that type of an impact as a teenager playing in a men’s league. My first impression was, ‘Wow, this is really impressive that this kid’s able to perform against men in a top European level.”
Playing against senior opponents is one way Reinbacher likes to think his breakout season — 22 points in 46 games — has helped gear him toward the NHL.
“They all have a lot of experience. It’s so fast, like good skaters, good skills. So for me, I always wanted to play as soon as possible against grown men,” Reinbacher said.
Tomlinson also believes the speed and high offense of the Swiss league have helped Reinbacher get his feet moving and forced him to play a lot of one-on-one situations that will help him navigate the ability to make plays quickly under pressure at the NHL level, on the smaller ice surface.
“I think just in Switzerland, the culture of hockey there, it’s fast, it’s skilled, it’s got to be a little more exciting,” said Tomlinson. “And, you know, obviously it’s about winning too, and he showed that he could help the team win. And to be honest, he was the best at it on the back end for us.”
Reinbacher is No. 6 on Corey Pronman’s 2023 NHL Draft ranking of the top 142 prospects and No. 12 on Scott Wheeler’s ranking of the top 100. Though he chose not to fixate too much on projections, Reinbacher considered getting drafted in the first round on June 28 a goal, knowing how big of a milestone it would be for another Austrian hockey player to be selected so high, following in the footsteps of players before him like Thomas Vanek, Marco Rossi and Marco Kasper.
“The first round is huge. I would not know how to describe this situation. It means a lot, especially because I’m Austrian. Pretty honored to have this chance in June,” said Reinbacher ahead of the draft. “I guess we’re producing more and more good players. … And I would love that like probably 10 to 20 more players are getting drafted in the next 20 or 30 years. So it will be a huge thing for us that can produce also good NHL players.”
Leading up to the draft, he kept close the advice of Rossi, a friend of Reinbacher’s, who recently suited up with him at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft with the No. 9 pick by the Minnesota Wild.
“We talk about a lot of things that are coming towards me. So he helps me. He talks about it. He teaches me, (I’m) thankful that he talks that much. Like I would say, ‘Teach me what to do or how to handle the situation,’” Reinbacher said of Rossi. “And he said, ‘Just enjoy the moment every single day. No matter how hard it is, enjoy it. Especially if you don’t mind that much. Just feel free. Enjoy. Play free.’”
And now that he’s been welcomed to the NHL by the Canadiens, he hopes to maintain that humility that’s been so important to him as he’s climbed the ranks in Switzerland — the humility that has impressed his coach so much the past two seasons.
“I tried to prod him a couple of times with comments like, ‘Hey there, superstar. There were 40 scouts in the rink last night to watch you.’ And he always answered with, ‘I’m not a superstar. I’m just a kid trying to play in this league,’” Tomlinson recalled. “But you could tell by the way he carried himself on the ice that, although he wouldn’t admit it, he probably knew that he belonged.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
