I think he was picked because he's Slaf best friend. I wanted Kulich. But hope it works out.
I hope so too, but the more I see him play the less I like his chances of having a good career in the NHL going forward.
Defensively, I find that Mesar just coasts way too much, and that he neither cares much to defend, nor is he that effective at it even when he decides to put in the effort.
To be more precise, Measr's positioning defensively, his defense against the cycle, his understanding of passing lanes, his physical work, stick-checking, angles of pursuit, board battles, all of those components to Mesar's game look to be very far below what I'd consider "NHL-average".
And without marked improvement in the coming seasons I struggle to see how Mesar will ever see much ice at 5-on-5 in the NHL.
Then there's also the fact that as a player Mesar likes to try and be aggressive all the time, trying to force turnovers on opponents using his speed and taking-up their space on the forecheck, but also directly challenge and go after his opponents with his deking, skating, and overall offensive skillset when he has possession of the puck.
Don't get me wrong, it's good to be proactive out there overall as opposed to playing a more passive game. But I just feel that Mesar misses out on a lot of opportunities that would come to him if he anticipated plays more and tried to force things less.
Which brings me to questions about his hockey sense. And unfortunately, the more I watch Mesar play the more I start to question not only his awareness of space, but more than anything his play selection offensively.
One of the main reasons I have these concerns for Mesar's hockey IQ is that I routinely see him try and stickhandle through opponents when a simple pass or rim would work much better, or force high-risk plays when simple, fundamental passing would allow for better offensive opportunities.
Similarly, I find that he has trouble anticipating where the puck will be on the ice along the boards, and also how to position himself to get more grade-A offensive chances.
Those question marks I have about his hockey IQ make me believe that perhaps Measr's admittedly very impressive skillset has maybe allowed him to get by and produce offensively at every level so far despite having a very average sense for the ice.
And we all know what happens to undersized junior scorers with average hockey sense and no truly elite components to their offensive game (except skating in Mesar's case) when they make the jump to the pro game.
I really, sincereley hope that I am just over-scrutinizing Mesar's play with Kitchener and during these WJCs, and that my concerns with him will vanish with time/viewings of his play at higher levels. But again, seemingly every game of him that I see I lose a little bit more hope of him ever turning into a good offensive player for the Montreal Canadiens.
The good thing though is that there's lots of time still, and that there will be a great deal of opportunities for Mesar to make me eat my words in the future.