CHL notebook: Canadiens prospect Mesar blossoming in OHL

Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.

Filip Mesar
had several options regarding where he could play this season.
The 18-year-old forward could have returned to his native Slovakia to play for a third season with Poprad in the top men's league, where his competition was seasoned professionals. Or he could play junior hockey for Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League.
Mesar, selected by the Montreal Canadiens with the No. 26 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, said it was an easy choice.
"I was talking to Montreal and they wanted me to play on North American ice so we decided to play in Kitchener," he said. "I chose to play over here because I trust [the Canadiens] and they know what's best for me."
The decision has proven to be a good one for Mesar, who has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 17 games, the sixth-most on Kitchener.

"It's my first time away from home so everything is new for me," he said, "but I have an amazing billet family and all the guys are really good. I want to be as good as I can so my goals are higher. It's not bad, but it could be better."
Canadiens director of player development Rob Ramage said Mesar's strong play during rookie camp and training camp changed his trajectory.
"He had a really good rookie tournament," Ramage said. "He stood out, he played like a pro, his habits were really, really good. And so it became a decision during [training] camp."
Montreal sent Mesar to Laval of the American Hockey League, where he played two preseason games and one regular-season game. Then the decision was made to send him to the OHL.
"He's a young guy, needs to play a lot, needs to develop his offensive game," Ramage said. "His defensive habits were really good. But the American league is a hard league to do that for a young guy. It's not real high-scoring, there's a lot of grinding.
"Kitchener is a great organization, great place to play for these young guys. And so that's how the decision was made. And he embraced it. We weren't sure. I think initially he was hoping to stick around Montreal and Laval. But once he got to Kitchener, he realized it's a special place."
Mesar made his OHL debut Oct. 21 with a goal and three assists in a 7-2 win against Sudbury, and the next night he scored two goals, his second coming in overtime, for a 4-3 victory at Guelph.

It's not just the offense that has impressed the Canadiens.
"It's just the details in his game, C, North Bay (Seattle Kraken):* The 20-year-old extended his point streak to 10 games (19 points; eight goals, 11 assists) with a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win against Mississauga on Thursday. He has eight multipoint games during his streak, including four straight. Selected by the Kraken in the seventh round (No. 196) of the 2022 draft, Jackson is tied for sixth in the OHL with 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 30 games.
Zachary L'Heureux, LW, Halifax (Nashville Predators):The 19-year-old missed the first 22 games of the season recovering from sports hernia surgery but has had a sizzling stick since making his season debut Nov. 25. He has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in nine games, and at least one point in eight of them. L'Heureux was selected by the Predators with the No. 27 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Caeden Bankier, LW, Kamloops (Minnesota Wild): The 19-year-old left to play for Canada at the 2023 WJC on a high, scoring a goal in 5-2 loss at Victoria on Dec. 7 to give him 12 points (seven goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak. Despite not playing a game in 10 days, Bankier is tied for fifth in the WHL with 20 goals in 24 games, and he's second on Kamloops with 33 points. The Wild selected Bankier in the third round (No. 86) of the 2021 draft.
Photos courtesy: Tiffany Luke*