Young Slovakian Juraj Slafkovsky has attracted so much attention since being selected first overall in the 2022 National Hockey League Draft that Montreal sometimes seems to forget the existence of his compatriot Filip Mesar, who was also selected in the first round of the same auction.
Mesar, who was drafted straight out of the Bell Center 26th overall, is using the current World Junior Hockey Championships to remind us that he indeed remains a hope for the Canadian.
• Also read: Filip Mesar, who has returned to the OHL, wants to prove that he is “too strong for this league”.
Mesar, who turns 20 on Wednesday, collected seven points in four games in the preliminary round of the World Juniors.
AFP
Only five players were more productive than him at the start of the tournament, including his teammate Servac Petrovsky, who tops the points list with nine points. Perhaps even more surprising is in the case of Petrovsky, who had to wait until the sixth round (185th overall) before his name was called by the Minnesota Wild in the 2022 draft.
Mesar, Petrovsky and their teammates are now tasked with beating Finland in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, while Canada faces the Czech Republic.
Before Kulich and Lamoureux
Even though Mesar's selection came late in the first round, it's worth keeping in mind that he's particularly close to Czech forward Jiri Kulich, a prospect for the Buffalo Sabres, and Quebec defenseman Maveric Lamoureux, who could one day take his place with the Buffalo Sabres , preference was given to Arizona coyotes.
Kulich and Lamoureux, who will meet on Tuesday, are also among the players who have benefited and excelled from the current World Junior Hockey Championships.
Filip Mesar Photo provided by Tiffany Luke/Kitchener Rangers
Regarding Mesar, we would like to mention that he continues his development this season with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario League. In 20 games with this team, he scored a total of 32 points, including 13 goals. In addition to Slafkovsky, Mesar is also in the shadow of American defenseman Lane Hutson, who was also drafted by the Canadian in 2022, at the end of the second round (62nd overall).