For the past few days, the possibility of the Habs trading their fifth pick to move down in the draft had been increasingly discussed. After all, the club didn’t seem to want Matvei Michkov, and with the top-4 seemingly set in stone (Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Will Smith), moving down to pick up more than one prospect seemed a logical avenue.
But in the end, the Tricolore kept their fifth pick and used it to draft defenseman David Reinbacher. In Kent Hughes’ eyes, he was the best prospect available (but who knows if he would have been if he’d been left-handed).
Kent Hughes likes the kid (a lot), but it feels like organizational need guided the choice → https://t.co/OofTFtH0Ob
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) June 29, 2023
Now, clearly, the Tricolore likes the youngster. In fact, even if he didn’t trade his pick, that doesn’t mean he didn’t have good offers on the table.
In fact, according to Kent Hughes, no fewer than five or six teams called the Tricolore to acquire the pick. However, in his eyes, none of the offers were worth Reinbacher, whom the team’s scouts really wanted to draft.
And what scared the club was that some of the clubs that wanted to move up in the draft wanted to do so for Reinbacher, and that they were almost certain he wouldn’t be available after the sixth pick, whereas the Coyotes really seemed to want a defenseman (they drafted Dmitri Simashev immediately after Reinbacher).
#Habs Kent Hughes on keeping the 5th overall pick: “…and we weren’t going to be able to find a trade that was as valuable as David at five.”
– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) June 29, 2023
At the CH, we really like Reinbacher, who we see as a future first-pair defenseman capable of playing big minutes(and whose potential is judged to be among the highest of the current crop of prospects). And clearly, the youngster’s attitude has impressed the club, as he came to the table after his selection saying he couldn’t wait to put on his work boots and win the Stanley Cup.
The more you listen to him talk, the more you discover a mature young man.
“The first thing David told us at the (draft) table was I can’t wait to put my work boots on and help you win a Stanley Cup.” – Kent Hughes.
– Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) June 29, 2023
Clearly, the idea of drafting a potential top-tier right-handed defenseman was more than appealing to the Habs tonight. Would he have gotten more value by accepting an offer to move down in the draft? Maybe, but not in the eyes of Kent Hughes.
It remains to be seen whether the future will prove him right.
Extension
Kent Hughes also admitted that he tried to move up in the draft (and I want to believe he was aiming for Will Smith), but the four teams ahead of him wouldn’t trade their picks.
So he settled for the fifth pick, with which he got his hands on his target in Reinbacher.
Kent Hughes had discussions about moving up his draft rank, but says the top 4 teams weren’t willing to budge.
From then on, Hughes wouldn’t back down, for fear of losing the opportunity to select Reinbacher.@RDSca
– Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) June 29, 2023