Mesar’s Graduation: Thursday night in Kitchener

April 19, 2024

Last night, the Kitchener Rangers hosted the London Knights for Game 4 of Round 2 of the Ontario Hockey League Playoffs. I was there to grab an in-person look at Filip Mesar, who was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2022 draft at 26th overall.

I like to do this in the Spring, but it is important for me to note that I am nothing resembling a scout or prospect guru. So what you’re getting from me are impressions after watching one junior hockey playoff game, when I spend far more time watching pro hockey. This isn’t me providing analysis that I will be standing on a decade from now, but rather my raw impressions from one game. Take it for what it’s worth.

Person-In-Environment (PIE) Assessment

In professional hockey we talk about individual stats, and then we factor in other aspects of their environment to analyze those stats. For example, we don’t focus too heavily on the defensive statistics of a rookie defenseman playing on a bad team. Our assessment is only as good as our consideration the person within their environment.

Mesar is 20 years old, and was drafted out of Slovakia having played two seasons of professional hockey. He has just finished his second season in the OHL, a lower class of hockey for him. He will graduate to pro hockey next season, so what we have seen of Mesar of late is as good as he’s going to get at this level.

Size is always a factor in junior hockey. The Rangers have Mesar listed at 5’10” and 168 pounds, which is exactly where they had him listed last year this time when I watched him play against Logan Mailloux and the London Knights. Being a smaller man is not going to get easier for Mesar than it has been at this level. From here, he will play against men.

The quality of teammates is an important factor in assessing any player. The London Knights are the stronger team and are trying to repeat as OHL champions. While the Rangers did have several NHL draftees in their line-up, they were not really a match for the Knights.

Impressions of Mesar from Last Season

Last year I went to see a second round playoff game between these same two teams, with Logan Mailloux in the line-up for the Knights. I wrote that on a rough night for the Kitchener Rangers, it was not an easy environment for Filip Mesar to make an impression. But there were things worth pointing out.

I noticed Mesar’s size in relation to his peers. Yes, he even looked small in a junior game – not just short, but slight. In that game, he did not play small. There was no evidence that he avoided board battles or physical confrontations. There was even one engagement with Mailloux where Mesar did not stand out as the underdog.

I noted Mesar to be a smooth skater who was able to find open ice and thread passes through to find open teammates. He had a beautiful assist on a power play goal. I noted an occasion where he was pinned to the boards and it looked like he was neutralized. But Mesar was able to release the puck to the front of the net for a solid chance that his teammate didn’t convert. I noticed several instances of decent set-ups and passes from Mesar last year where his teammates couldn’t finish.

My overall impression last year was that Mesar did not necessarily need to be surrounded by elite talent to be effective, but that he did need to play with guys who can finish what he starts. My expectation was that Mesar would graduate to Laval for the 2023-24 season. I suggested that getting stronger in the offseason would be important for Mesar.

Impressions of Mesar from Last Night

While there are some reports that Mesar has gotten bigger, the Rangers playoff roster stats do not reflect that. He is listed as exactly the same height and weight, and he still looks small on the ice. Nevertheless, Mesar didn’t seem to avoid board battles or engaging in after-whistle scrums. I did see a few occasions where he was fairly easily rubbed out against the boards, and on one occasion he retaliated and took a penalty which led to a London goal.

Like last season, the Rangers were the underdog in this one, and the Knights could smell blood in the water in an elimination game with the potential for a sweep. London came out flying and physical and the Rangers crumbled early.

On Mesar’s first shift, the line that he was centering got hemmed in. Hunter Brzustewicz – drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 2023 and sent to the Calgary Flames in the Elias Lindholm trade – coughed up the puck and it wound up in the Rangers net. On that play I did note that Mesar wasn’t anywhere near where you would expect the centreman to be on the breakout. He was more where you would expect the Pizza Pizza guy to be at the intermission.

In general, the Rangers were terrible on the breakout all night and Brzustewicz was a giveaway machine in the first period. Kitchener played a lot of dump and chase – a strategy they may have adopted to try to contend with a better opponent – but as you can imagine, this style of play does not suit Mesar very well. For the first two periods, we didn’t get to see the puck on his stick very much, and most of his touches came from the perimeter. He was largely ineffective, and I noted a couple of shots fired from distance that went straight into the defender’s shin pads.

But Kitchener did wake up for the third period, and Mesar was central to that. He was called upon heavily late in the third when the Rangers needed two goals, and he did assist on the goal that brought them to within one late in the third.

Filip Mesar in the third period looked very different than the player I had watched for most of the game, and an improvement on the player I watched last season. He was intense and poised, and if I had only seen those few minutes I would say he was a gamer who wants the puck on his stick when the chips are down and will find a way to deliver. Certainly, his overall playoff statistics would suggest that’s who he is.

Overall Impressions

I might have expected Mesar to graduate to pro hockey a year earlier than he did, but this season there is no choice. Mesar will play in Laval next season, unless he has an outstanding camp in Montreal.

If I’m honest, I am not certain his game will translate to the NHL level, but he has a decent toolbox and the Habs have a strong developmental program. Mesar will be wise to keep getting stronger, and to take in every bit of coaching the Canadiens throw at him. He’s graduating into a pro club where the competition will be fierce.