David Reinbacher (born 25 October 2004) is an Austrian professional ice hockey defenceman for EHC Kloten of the National League (NL) as a prospect to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted fifth overall by the Canadiens in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career
Reinbacher played as a youth in Switzerland with EHC Rheintal and EHC Bülach, before moving to EHC Kloten at the under-15 level. Appearing within Kloten junior ranks, Reinbacher made his professional debut with the club in the Swiss League, the second tier of the Swiss league system, midway through the 2021–22 season. Reinbacher managed 1 goal and 10 assists in 27 regular season appearances. He then played in 14 playoff games, which culminated in Kloten securing promotion to the National League, Switzerland's first tier.

In the 2022–23 season, Reinbacher established himself a regular on Kloten's blueline, attracting attention for doing so as an 18-year-old player, and seeing his average ice time rise from 6 minutes per game to over 20. He recorded 3 goals and 19 assists in 46 games during the regular season, and two further points in three playoff games. He received the league's award for the best young player of the year.

Prior to the 2022–23 season, Reinbacher had a low profile among evaluators for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, with some European evaluators identifying him as a potential second-round selection. By November 2022 he was receiving attention from major North American publications, with The Hockey News naming him to their "All-Sleeper Squad" of players who should be considered for the first round. By the time of the draft in June, Reinbacher was mooted as a top ten selection by many, and generally considered likely to be the first defenceman taken in the draft. At the draft in Nashville, Reinbacher was selected fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens, with the team's general manager Kent Hughes describing him as "a diamond in the rough with a lot of potential." This made him the highest-drafted Austrian skater in the history of the NHL, alongside Thomas Vanek, taken at the same ordinal twenty years earlier. The Canadiens' decision was controversial due to their passing over Matvei Michkov, considered by many to be the most talented player still available at the time, who was subsequently taken by the Philadelphia Flyers. Criticism on social media attracted sports media coverage, notably due to reported abusive messages directed at Reinbacher himself.

On July 5, 2023, the Canadiens announced that Reinbacher had signed a three-year entry-level contract with the organization.

International play
Reinbacher represented Team Austria at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. He averaged over 26 minutes of ice time per game, and had two assists in the team's final game, which saw them relegated following defeat at the hands of Team Latvia. Months later he made his debut with the senior national team at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. After suffering an MCL injury in Austria's second game against Team Sweden, Reinbacher missed three games, but returned to play 23 minutes in the final group stage game against Team Hungary and help Austria avoid relegation.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

References

External links
 

2004 births
Living people
EHC Kloten players
Austrian expatriate ice hockey people
Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Austrian ice hockey defencemen
Expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
Montreal Canadiens draft picks
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
People from Hohenems
Sportspeople from Vorarlberg