Five picks after Filip Mesar, Tampa drafted what the Habs needed

It's unclear whether the Montreal Canadiens selecting Filip Mesar 26th overall at the 2022 NHL Draft was universally loved.

When you take a look at the Canadiens prospect pool, and their current NHL lineup, a guy like Mesar doesn't fill a need. The Habs currently have Cole Caufield, who is undersized, and unless a small player has skills like him and Lane Hutson, it's hard to plug them into the lineup. I'm all for players with heart, but Mesar doesn't strike me as a player who does what Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Alex Barre-Boulet can.

The Canadiens need to add size, but not just to have a guy who is bigger than everybody. As we're seeing with Juraj Slafkovsky, having the size is great, but if the physical side of the game isn't natural, it can create obstacles. Montreal needs gritty, physical players if they are not talented enough to light up the scoresheet or make an impact with their playmaking.

Even if Mesar had produced excellent numbers over his two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers, I still don't feel convinced that he is the right pick. It's a gamble to analyze 17 and 18-year-old prospects and project how good they will be in their prime. Some guys look brilliant and fizzle out, while others are a bit behind the 8-ball, but once they figure it out, the team that drafts them is laughing.

For me, however, Mesar has the profile of a top-six player, because of his size and lack of a strong two-way game. Speedy players are great, but Alex Newhook provides speed, and he doesn't belong in the top six. Mesar may have better puck handles and a stronger off-puck game, but some guys went after him in the back end of the first round, who are looking much better.

My guy is and was Isaac Howard, and when you consider Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson's success with the USNTDP before being drafted, it's easy to keep an eye on new players joining. Howard played a total of 87 games, split between the USNTDP Junior squad, and the U.S National U-18 team in his draft year. The product of Hudson, Wisconsin., and Michigan State University commitment scored 44 goals and 75 assists.

The transition from the USHL to the NCAA was a relatively seamless one for Howard, and his high offensive IQ combined with a natural shooting ability helped ease it. It's also worth noting that his skating is one of the top tools in his repertoire. He is tremendously aware of how to exploit angles to beat defenders and uses his body to protect the puck.

But his puck skills, especially how he lets his top hand move freely, to pull off high-skill puckhandling sequences. Howard is 5'11" and 190 lbs, which isn't much bigger than Mesar, but he is built stout and can handle the physical game a little easier than Mesar. If the thought was pure offence with Mesar, then Howard would be a fan favourite.

Howard's draft-plus-one season came during his freshman campaign with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and it was a transition for him. The Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, as much as it pains me to say that; Howard scored 17 points in his freshman season, through 36 games. He transferred to Michigan State University for his draft-plus-two season, playing an identical 36 games, but he posted point-per-game numbers (eight goals, and 28 assists).

He proved himself as a playmaker, using great deception to look off defenders and thread a pass the opposite way. But his junior season with MSU, this season has shown how polished his game from the opposing blueline has become. Howard is one of the purest shooters on the college scene, and his 22 goals trail only Washington Capitals' 2023 eighth-overall selection Ryan Leonard's 23 for number one in the college ranks.

Howard currently leads the nation in scoring with 43 points, two ahead of the second-place scorer, St. Louis Blues prospect Jimmy Snuggerud.

Habs right defence should encourage trade

With the Canadiens heading in the wrong direction, I think it's fair to say that they are not going to challenge for a wildcard spot. Their current free-fall down the standings has been pretty bad, and while they beat the San Jose Sharks, it's nothing to be excited about. Montreal has lost six of their last seven games, and they got blown out 4-0 on home ice against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon.

Their matchup on Sunday afternoon comes against the team that David Savard won his Stanley Cup with. Tampa Bay is flying high, employing four players with 20 or more goals (Kucherov - 25 , Guentzel - 27 , Hagel - 26 , and Point - 30). Nick Paul (15 goals) and Anthony Cirelli (19 goals) are just on the outside looking in. I am the last person who enjoys watching the Canadiens play games that they are going to lose, so I hope the Habs beat Tampa.

But the Lightning are loaded up front, defensively they are good and Andrei Vasilevskiy is a pretty good option to pursue a Stanley Cup. If Montreal loses this game, it would be rather unsurprising. That is precisely why I believe that they should trade Savard right now, or at least during the 4 Nations Faceoff break. The Canadiens can finish the season with Logan Mailloux and Alexandre Carrier filling out the top four right-shot defence roles, and calling up a guy from Laval until Kaiden Guhle returns isn't a crazy thought.

David Reinbacher is coming down the line also, and though he hasn't played much in Laval, I think he is going to play in the NHL as soon as next season. If not at the beginning, I believe that he could be called up in a pinch for the Habs, and potentially stick it out. Calling up Adam Engstrom to finish the season, and then signing a right defenseman during the summer would solve the problem.

The Canadiens have plenty of trade assets, and for that reason I think they should be active in acquiring additional draft capital. Loading up now, while the team is trying to solidify themselves is a smart decision. Next year, with the team closer to being competitive, and a stocked cupboard, the Canadiens can dangle some of their assets to bring in help for a playoff push.

Quality is of the utmost importance, but having a higher quantity of intriguing prospects could lure general manager's to deal a rental player to stock their club's prospect pool. Just some food for thought.