Video surfaces of the moment the Canadiens decided to make a huge mistake at the 2023 draft
When the Montreal Canadiens stepped up to the podium on July 28th to make their 5th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, there were a large contingent of people who believed that perhaps our most heated rival was going to select offensive phenom Matvei Michkov, who was largely viewed, skill-for-skill, as the 2nd best player in the draft behind only Connor Bedard. In the end, the Habs selected defenseman David Reinbacher.
When the Habs announced Reinbacher's name (no thanks to Carey Price, who actually forgot the young defenseman's name at the podium), there were plenty of raised eyebrows and stunned faces. That's because almost everyone present had expected Michkov or perhaps even Ryan Leonard to be selected with their 5th overall pick.
None of this is a slight against Reinbacher, who is a talented young defenseman. He deserved to go in the top-10 for sure. He was largely viewed as the best defenseman in the draft. However, I firmly believe that when we look back several years down the line, the Canadiens (and several other teams) will regret not taking Michkov, who ended up being drafted 7th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers.
The main reason why Michkov didn't go 2nd overall is because of his contract status in Russia. It may yet be 4 or 5 years before he becomes eligible to leave the KHL and come over to the NHL. The teams who passed on him weren't worried about the skill level, they were worried about the ability to get him over to North America, given his contract status.
Needless to say, a team like the Canadiens, who are still very much rebuilding, could have probably made the selection anyway, knowing that they're still 4-5 years away from becoming a viable contender.
Recently, a video surfaced of the Habs deliberating who they'd like to take in the draft. While Michkov's name was redacted from the feed, it's nearly everyone's belief that that's who they were talking about in the edited portions. Here's how the team came to the decision to draft Reinbacher over Michkov:
Again, we have nothing against Reinbacher, who is a solid prospect. However, even the Canadiens' own fanbase questioned the pick following the draft. Some fans went so far as to begin messaging Reinbacher directly on his own personal social media accounts to air their displeasure with the pick. It was so bad at one point that the Canadiens considered sending Reinbacher back to Europe for another season to let things cool down.
In the draft, and especially when you're a rebuilding team, the best practice is always to select the best player available. In the end, if you're selecting the best player available, especially that high in the draft, you're always going to have a premium asset. The Canadiens clearly viewed Michkov as the best player available if they were bringing up his name in the video, attempting to rationalize and convince one another why Reinbacher was the smarter pick. Personally, I believe that even if Reinbacher turns into a quality NHL defenseman, passing on Michkov is going to be viewed as a pretty significant mistake down the line - especially if Michkov ends up becoming the next Kirill Kaprizov.
| POLL | ||
1 SEPTEMBRE | 51 ANSWERS Video surfaces of the moment the Canadiens decided to make a huge mistake at the 2023 draft Who will be the bigger star between Matvei Michkov and David Reinbacher? | ||
| Reinbacher | 19 | 37.3 % |
| Michkov | 32 | 62.7 % |
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