At this point of the summer, most of Montreal’s prospects either know or really have a good idea of where they’re likely to be playing when training camps open up in a couple of months. However, there are a pair of youngsters that don’t yet have a place to play in 2023-24.
Some years, I’ve sat down and graded Montreal’s full draft class. That would be a difficult exercise this time around so instead, here are some thoughts on each of their selections.
I wanted to wait until the dust settled on the offseason activity before really deciding to dig into Montreal’s pick of David Reinbacher at fifth overall over some forwards on the board. It’s a decision I wasn’t exactly shocked by and I’m not convinced it was the wrong one either.
The Canadiens took care of two of their remaining three restricted free agents on Thursday, announcing the re-signings of forward Lucas Condotta and defenceman Nicolas Beaudin to two-way contracts.
Another day, another signing for the Canadiens. This time, it’s their top draft pick putting pen to paper as the team announced that David Reinbacher has signed a three-year, entry-level contract.
Laval has added several pieces for next season, announcing the signings of four players on Monday – forwards Jared Davidson and Jakov Novak, defenceman Tobie Paquette-Bisson, and goaltender Strauss Mann.
The Habs have added an interesting youngster in free agency as they announced on Sunday that they’ve signed centre Lias Andersson to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal pays $775,000 in the NHL and $450,000 at the AHL level.
The Habs enter the second day of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with eight picks on hand. As is tradition, we’ll keep track of their moves here with scouting reports on their newest prospects.
The Habs went into the opening round of Wednesday’s draft with the fifth selection. While there was plenty of speculation that they might trade down, they didn’t and instead selected defenceman David Reinbacher out of the Swiss league.
Ryan Leonard has played his way into top-ten consideration in the upcoming draft at the very least. Depending on who is still on the board when the Habs are picking overall, there’s a chance that he could be an option at the fifth selection.