I have no faith in that prospect. None.
I wouldn't go that far, but his first year in Kitchener was a real disappointment for me.
He looked disinterested a lot of the times, weak in puck-protection, made sub-optimal plays with the puck on his stick, it seemed that he struggled to process the game in an NA rink, and he just wasn't playing with nearly the same energy and vim that I'd seen him display as a D-1 when he played in Slovakia and at the U-18s.
I even started questioning his hockey IQ, thinking he'd maybe gotten by on superior skating/hands vs. his competition, a fact that maybe hid a "potentially-middling" hockey sense.
That was my grasp on the prospect after the 2022/2023 season, not from stats but from watching Mesar play for Kitchener.
But then he had a much better second season in Kitchener last year, improved his work rate, made noticeably better decisions with the puck, showed less of a lackadaisical attitude defensively, pressured the puck carrier with MUCH more alacrity and urgency, and just played incredibly well overall in the playoffs, as he was often the best player on Kitchener from the games I saw.
So yeah, Mesar did not completely quell the doubts I started to harbor for him after his frankly disastrous 2022/2023 CHL season with his performance last year. But his strong play despite no "eye-popping stats" to speak of after an abysmal first CHL season definitely elevated my opinion of him.
All of which to say that although I am quite "down" on Mesar as a prospect, and seriously doubt his future as a top-6 forward at the NHL level, I also still think there is hope for his NHL dreams yet if he shows well at the AHL for 2024/2025 and displays improvement there.
I wish Mesar all the best and will be rooting for him though, as I will for every single Canadiens prospect that we draft/sign.