Q&A Recap: Filip Mesar

MONTREAL - When Juraj Slafkovsky and Mesar were reunited for the first time since both being drafted to the Canadiens on July 7, 2022, they met with a hug that was 18 years in the making.

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On June 28, Mesar, the 2022 26th-overall pick, recounted the historic night for Slovakian hockey and touched on many topics from his impressions of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki to his favorite player growing up and more on the Canadiens official Twitch account.

Here are some highlights from the Q&A:

Please note that questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Filip Mesar on how long it took him to process everything from the 2022 NHL Draft:

It probably took me about a week. Like you said, it was probably the best night of my life. I couldn't believe what happened. When I saw Juraj go first, then Simon Nemec was second overall so it was something crazy for Slovakia. Then, I was the third guy from Slovakia drafted in the first round, so for sure it was something special. To be on the same team as Juraj… yeah, it's pretty special.

Mesar on Nathan MacKinnon being his favorite player growing up:

He's a right-handed forward like me. I really like his speed, his skill and his shot; this guy has everything. I want to be like him. I'm always watching his videos and trying to be as good as him. So, he's my favorite player but the other player [I watched] when I was growing up was Sidney Crosby. Those two guys I really like.

Mesar on what Slovakian food he missed the most when he was in Canada:

That was one of the things I missed the most from Slovakia, our traditional food. It's called "Bryndzové halušky" and it's from our special cheese. It's kind of like dumplings with bacon. I couldn't find it in Canada, so I was so excited to go home [and have it]. That was my first meal when I got home.

Mesar on who on the Habs he's most looking forward to playing with one day:

Montreal has a lot of good prospects and, when I met the guys in Montreal, I played with Cole Caufield on the same line in some scrimmages. I really like his game and I was also watching Nick Suzuki. I really like those two guys, because I think Suzy is so smart; his hockey sense is so good. Cole is someone like me; he's not a very big player, but he's skilled, he's fast and his shot is really good.

Mesar on advice a coach or trainer gave him when he was younger to reach the next level:

They always told me to work harder than the others and to be smarter than them, because I wasn't always the biggest guy on the ice. They were telling me to be smarter, faster and to work on my skills. It helped me a lot and I'm trying to do it on the ice right now. So, hopefully I'm going to get better and better every day and hopefully it's going to help me.