News
Sports
NHL
Canadiens
Canadiens

Crier NHL – Canadiens Top Pick Gets the Welcome He Deserves

Jul 2, 2023

Montreal is known as the Mecca of hockey. The city where the modern game was born, where the Stanley Cup was first awarded and home to the original franchise of the NHL. Because of this rich history, and the decades of championship teams, some fans feel entitled and even expect perfection. This atmosphere feeds into the aura of the sport in the city. However, as Arpon Basu of The Athletic describes, it can also bring out a dark side in some. 

 

 

The general reaction from Canadiens fans on the David Reinbacher pick at No. 5 is honestly shocking. The overall outrage is at a level I don’t think I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something.

Arpon Basu, The Athletic (subscription site)

 

There were messages posted to Reinbacher’s Instagram, twitter and others. Some were just filled with the regular “you suck” to some who compared him to Hitler. Regardless of how many messages were sent to the 2023 fifth-overall pick just because his name is not Matvei Michkov, it does paint the fanbase in a negative light. This does have an effect on players and management alike, and not just those in Montreal, the entire league takes notice. 

 

 

Reinbacher was very appreciative and was mature and professional in his response to the anger directed at him simply for not being the player those angry idiots didn’t want to see selected. When asked about the social media messages he received: “I don’t want to talk about it; I read the good messages so thanks to all the fans who were writing some good messages. I felt pretty welcomed, especially by the staff, owner, and GM; they welcomed me with warm arms..”

 

Then, there are fans like this. These two fans took it upon themselves to ensure that David Reinbacher received the good wishes of the majority of the fan base. They printed out as many positive posts from social media as they could find, bound them into a journal, and delivered it personally to the Canadiens practice facility. 

 

  

 

It was a welcome sight to the player and the organization. 

 

 

This is the type of positive fan interaction that gives Montreal a good name. The smile Reinbacher had on his face was genuine, and clearly one that felt the care from the fans. These two young ladies provided the wholesome fan interaction everyone loves to see. Some people forget that this sport isn’t life and death, hockey is a form of entertainment. So just enjoy the distraction  

Blain Potvin

Subscribe Now!

Which newsletters would you like to receive?

Yes! By providing my email address, I agree to receive communications from Crier Media (this can be changed at any time). Please take a look at the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for more details.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related stories