David Reinbacher was quick to rally to the defense of his fellow defensemen, and whether this year’s NHL draft class of blue liners lacks depth and is getting overshadowed by the hype regarding a Connor Bedard-led group of high-skilled forwards.
“I would say it’s not a lack,” the 18-year-old Austrian said at the recent draft combine in Buffalo, New York.
“There are so many good defense also here, like Pellikka and the Russian guy,” he added referring to Sweden’s Axel Sandin Pellikka and Mikhail Gulyayev. “So I would say, we’re a good group of defensemen who can show the forwards where to go.”
How’s that for confidence from the 6-foot-2 Reinbacher, who could be the first blue-liner selected when the two-day draft opens in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday night? Reinbacher made his pro debut in the Swiss League at 16, and last season led the league’s teenagers with 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in 46 games to earn most improved player honors.
Positional bias aside, questions revolving around the depth of talent in this year’s defensive crop persist.
“There are some quality defensemen, I think, in the first round,” said Philadelphia Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr, whose team is scheduled to open with the seventh pick. “But overall, I don’t think it’s a real deep draft for defensemen.”
Buffalo Sabres chief scout Jerry Forton said one of the intriguing questions of this draft revolves around defensemen, with who going first and when.
“I’ve been shocked to see some of the mock drafts, the lack of defensemen near the top. I think there’s a handful of defensemen in this draft that could be really good long-term NHL players,” said Forton, with Buffalo set to open the draft selecting 13th. “I think you could see two defensemen taken in the top 12, or you could see three or four. Neither one would shock.”
The Athletic's latest mock draft projects Reinbacher going fifth to Montreal, while NHL.com has him going eighth to Washington. Though not a mock draft, TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s annual ranking of top prospects has Reinbacher listed eighth as his top defenseman.
It's been 20 years since a defenseman was selected outside of the top five picks. It last happened in 2003, when Ryan Suter went No. 7 to the Predators in a draft also held in Nashville, and marked the last time a goalie — Marc Andre-Fleury — was chosen first.
Valued as defensemen are by teams, forwards — and predominantly centers — have traditionally been the top pick.
Among the recent exceptions were the Sabres using the No. 1 pick to draft Owen Power in 2021 and Rasmus Dahlin in 2018, and Aaron Ekblad going first to Florida in 2014. The only other defenseman drafted first in the salary cap era was Erik Johnson going to St. Louis in 2006.
“I think these trends go in cycles, and this is definitely the year for the skilled, speedy forwards,” NHL Central Scouting chief Dan Marr said. “I can’t tell you who the first defenseman will go in the draft.”
Central Scouting rankings of defensemen are low in comparison to previous years. Reinbacher heads the defensemen on the international skaters list, ranked fifth overall. Central Scouting’s top 17 North American skaters are all forwards, before Lukas Dragicevic comes in as the first defenseman at No. 18, immediately followed by Etienne Morin.
That didn’t stop Marr from predicting Morin to be the first blue-liner selected.
“It’s obviously a really nice comment to get and put my confidence up for the draft,” Morin said, referring to Marr’s prediction. “If you would have asked me this a couple of years ago, I would have said, `You’re crazy. It’s never going to happen.'”
At 6-feet and 180 pounds, Morin led QMJHL defensemen with 21 goals and ranked third in averaging 1.07 points per outing by finishing with 72 points in 67 games. He more than doubled his rookie season total of eight goals, 33 points, in 64 games with Moncton.
Morin said he isn’t bothered by the idea this year’s draft is dominated by forwards. He said they deserve the attention.
“Every forward in this draft is unbelievable,” Morin said. “Obviously, the defensemen are going to be less watched. But if a team wants a defenseman, I’m going to be there.”
For some, it’s a matter of when the run might start or how teams build their draft lists.
“You always try to take the best player available, and there’s a lot of qualify forwards in this draft. But there’s some really good defensemen” said Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, whose team is scheduled to open with the third pick. "So I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a bit of a surprise in that type of order where a defenseman gets taken a lot higher than the published lists.”
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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed.
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John Wawrow, The Associated Press