Montreal Canadiens: Three Habs Prospects Raising Their Stock This Season

Filip Mesar

The Montreal Canadiens drafted Filip Mesar in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft. He had been playing pro in Slovakia before being selected, so there was some debate as to where he should continue his development.

Since he was drafted out of a pro league in Europe, he could pretty much play wherever the team wanted him to go. Obviously he could have played in the NHL if he was ready, but most late first round picks are not. So, he could have stayed in Europe and played pro there, joined the Laval Rocket and played in the American Hockey League or head to Junior and play for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

Ultimately, the team decided he would go to the OHL and play Junior, and it was kind of expected he would dominate at that level after playing a couple of years of pro hockey. Mesar was good for the Rangers, but had some slow stints and ultimately finished the season with 17 goals and 51 points in 52 games.

It was solid production, but more was expected. Mesar returned to the Rangers this season after playing a couple of games with the Rocket to begin the season, and he is absolutely on fire.

Of course, being a year older you woudl expect him to score over a point per game like he did last season, but Mesar is pretty much piling up two points per night. He had 22 points in his first 11 games of the season and now has 24 points in 13 games which puts him first in the league in points per game at 1.92.

You would have expected Mesar to be good, but he has been exceptional at the OHL level this season. The 19 year old suddenly looks like a potential future top six option for the Canadiens after a so-so first year in North America.