A horrible meeting between David Reinbacher, Kent Hughes, and Jeff Gorton
For the second year in a row, the Montreal Canadiens selected fifth overall in the NHL Draft, choosing David Reinbacher and Ivan Demidov in consecutive years.
While the selection of the Russian player was widely praised, the choice of the Austrian player, Reinbacher, was met with less enthusiasm among fans. Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and the entire Canadiens management knew that this pick wouldn't be popular, but they still decided to go with him.
TVA Sports journalist Nicolas Cloutier shared some unexpected details about Reinbacher's selection. According to Cloutier, the first meeting between David Reinbacher and the Canadiens' management was disastrous to the point where his selection was seriously in jeopardy.
Before my interview with Reinbacher, I knew what to expect. Let me tell you an interesting story: Reinbacher's first interview with the Canadiens at the Combine went very poorly. So much so that they weren't even sure if he was their guy anymore. But they called him back for a second interview and got a better understanding of his personality. He's a bit shy and awkward, which is surprising because he doesn't show that on the ice. But he's a very nice boy with good manners. So respectful.
You can say he's been trained in public relations with everything that's happened since the draft, and he's very concerned with giving you the perfect answer instead of just letting his personality shine through. When we talked about his game and what he could become, he had a quiet confidence about him.
But Slafkovsky... oh my God. He was brash, man. Super confident. I didn't hold back with any questions. I was very, very impressed."
- Nicolas Cloutier
This highlights the difference in confidence levels between the 2022 first overall pick and the 2023 fifth overall pick.
The good news is that David Reinbacher has since adapted well to his new team and the fans. However, he came close to never wearing the Canadiens uniform.
Source: Danslescoulisses.com
La première entrevue de David Reinbacher avec le CH s'est très mal déroulée
| POLL | ||
Do you think that selecting David Reinbacher was the right choice in 2023? | ||
| Yes | 165 | 79.7 % |
| No | 42 | 20.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
