'David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux are not ready for the NHL'

According to Gervais, both players still need development and the Habs need to give them time before graduating them to the NHL.

You can hear the excerpt here.

Indeed, each of the players has experienced different problems in his learning process.

In Reinbacher’s case, it was simply his injury that forced him to miss most of last season, when he played just ten regular-season games, plus the playoffs with the Rocket.

One might think that in his case, it only delayed his development a little, and that if the Austrian had played a full season in Laval, he’d be ready to make the jump to the NHL next season.

In Mailloux’s case, however, it’s more a lack of consistency that seems to be hindering his development.

He often shows flashes of brilliance, but he just can’t seem to play at that level consistently. What’s more, he sometimes makes poor decisions on the ice, such as indiscipline that can get his team into trouble, as we saw in the series with the Rocket.

However, I think we’ll have to wait and see where Reinbacher and Mailloux are in their development at the next training camp.

On the other hand, if that’s the case and the Canadiens send both defensemen to Laval, they’ll have to acquire a defenseman for their blue-line brigade.

Right now, the club has six NHL-calibre defensemen: Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble, who is a restricted free agent.

Xhekaj’s situation is also unclear, and it’s hard to predict his future with the team.

What is clear is that the Habs will need reinforcements on defense, whether through the arrival of a prospect or the acquisition of a new player.

Could another defensive prospect like Adam Engstrom muddy the waters at next camp, or would the Canadiens be better off turning to an outside solution?

Overtime

– Ready for Game 2.

– It starts tonight.

– We hope so!

– Back for another season.

– Alexis Joseph is the QMJHL’s first choice.