Montreal Canadiens: Kitchener Rangers Signal Filip Mesar Moving On To AHL

The Montreal Canadiens caused a bit of a stir at the 2022 NHL Draft when they selected Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick. The big Slovakian winger was not projected by many to go first overall, but the Canadiens elected to go with the player with power forward potential.

While that pick was often discussed, picked apart, and sometimes celebrated, the Canadiens have another first round pick in that draft and selected another Slovakian. This time it was Slafkovsky’s childhood friend Filip Mesar who was taken 26th overall.

Mesar had played two seasons of pro hockey in Slovakia before being drafted but headed to the Kitchener Rangers for the 2022-23 season. While he did not put up huge offensive numbers in the Slovakian pro league, he clearly showed he was a skilled offensive player which is why he was drafted so early.

Last season, Mesar suited up for one game with the Laval Rocket before being sent down to the OHL’s Rangers. He had some impressive stretches but also some times when he was going through some growing pains as well. At season’s end, Mesar had put up 17 goals and 51 points in 52 games. The Rangers would lose in the second round of the OHL Playoffs and Mesar had one goal and four points in nine postseason games.

Mesar turned 19 in January so he is eligible to return to the Rangers for the 2023-24 season. He was also drafted by the Canadiens out of a Slovakian pro league so he is eligible to play with the Laval Rocket next season. Most 19 year olds are not eligible to leave the CHL to play in the AHL, but since Mesar joined the CHL after the NHL Draft, he can play pretty much wherever he wants next season.

Well, it is probably more accurate to say he can play wherever the Canadiens want him to next season. Either way, signs are starting to point toward Mesar leaving the Canadian Junior league and playing with the Laval Rocket.

The CHL held its annual import draft last week. Canadian Junior teams are only allowed to dress a maximum of two import players on a given night. This includes any players who are not residents of Canada or the United States. Every year, all 60 teams across Canada in the CHL have the chance to draft two import players.

Many teams will still have an import player on the roster from the previous season so they will choose to only draft one, or possibly zero players in the import draft. The Rangers elected to draft two players in the 2023 CHL Import Draft, which usually only makes sense if they have no returning import players.

That would mean they don’t expect to have Mesar back on the roster next season.

It could signal a couple of other things, like they don’t expect Aron Kiviharju, who they selected 85th overall, to report. But why bother trying to get him if they have Mesar and Tomas Pobezal, who they drafted 25th overall in the import draft? Rolling the dice on a highly rated 2024 NHL Draft prospect like Kiviharju only makes sense if you actually have room for him on your roster.

It is possible they already have a trade in the works to another OHL team, but Junior hockey teams usually don’t keep those types of trades under wraps all that well so we would have heard more about it by now if Mesar was being dealt to another OHL team. We knew Shane Wright was heading to the Windsor Spitfires long before the Seattle Kraken chose to send him back to the OHL.

To crown this small field even further, the Rangers still have the rights of Tomas Hamara of Czechia who was their other import player last season. He is also heading into his 19 year old season and it would make sense for him to return to Junior for another season.

There simply isn’t room for all of these players. The pick of Kiviharju seems like a reach where the team is just hoping he decides to come, but that still leaves them with three imports when they can only have two.

It sure looks like Mesar is done with the Kitchener Rangers which likely means he is done in the OHL. If that is the case, the Canadiens first round pick will be headed to the Laval Rocket next season.

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