Kitchener Rangers STH here who has watched Mesar the last two years.
When he first came to Kitchener he was FLYING out there. All over the ice and giving 100% effort. Created chance after chance. Then as the season settled in he didn’t really give a BEEP. His effort was completely gone.
Last season he played much better. I hate to knock the coach but he should have played on a different line last year. Mesar is amazing at zone entries. He comes flying in with speed and then as the defenders back up he slows down and lets the play develop. His problem last year was that he played a lot with Carson Rehkopf. Now you may be thinking why was it bad that he played with a 52 goal scorer? The problem was that Rehkopf likes to carry the puck into the offensive zone and create. Many times dangle and try to beat the defenceman. Those two players should have been on separate lines. That way each player could play to their strengths. Mesar was second fiddle on the line. But when those two were split up then Mesar just didn’t have a sniper to pass the puck to. I swear he would set up teammates and they wouldn’t convert grade A scoring chances.
The playoffs came around and he was by far Kitcheners best player. If he plays like that and like the way he had played in spurts during the two OHL seasons, plus how he played at the World Juniors then the Habs have a player.
He almost reminds me of the Habs version of Jonathan Drouin. Speedy pass first guy who needs someone who can score on his line.
This is what I've seen too in my ~30 games watched or so.
The competitive/compete level were things never talked about before with him. In fact, I remember hearing his compete level was very good.
It's no secret he was against junior hockey from the start. And it has seemed to have changed his game thus far.
But when his effort level is up, he's a game changer. Hopefully finally playing against men like he wanted will be a big help. It's easy for many personalities to slack off in junior hockey when you are brand new to a country and can coast and still be one of the best on your team.
It's not a great quality, but some players need to be challenged to get the most out themselves. He tried to tell the organization that from Day 1. Let's see if he can prove that he was right this year.
Plus it's crazy how backwards some fans are. "No compete!!!" yet grew up with Alex Kovalev posters on their wall.