He wasn't just blindly ripping off those shots either. Not many of his shots were blocked, he did a good job of ensuring there was an open lane and/or a teammate there that could potentially get their stick in and tip in the shot home. I mostly liked what i saw.
Most impressive is that he was really putting some mustard behind this flurry of one-timers... and for the most part his shots were all not just getting through the D but getting in
on the net.
Hell, he scored a big goal with one of those shots. And putting it on net with traffic nearby can only lead to good things. I was impressed with the [general] accuracy of his shot.
... not just his willingness to shoot it. He was exercising patience and he also demonstrated that he can play both sides... he handled the off-side well today.
And lastly, he has a big body behind that big shot. "Thick" was the word used by someone and that is a pretty good way to describe him. He's not just tall, he's got a big frame and seems to have natural strength.
Based solely on that one game (which is ridiculous of course, but just for conjecture's sake), where we saw a rusty Mez do more than just hold his own -- after all, he did score a goal, but he was also adequate on D -- i would say that Chia's big deadline acquisition, while not a major splash, was quite a bargain for this team and the B's FO.
A 3rd round pick is not very much to give up at all, very low risk. And this for a player who will likely only make improvements moving forward as he gets comfortable in Boston, gets more reps with this team, and gets more experience playing in Clode's system. Mez entered the NHL at a young age and ripped it up once upon a time... here's to hoping he can rekindle the greatness that he has shown flashes of before injuries derailed his career.
Remember, Mez is only 28. Not like he is old at all, especially for a D-man. Maybe Chara can get today's Mez to channel the Mez-plus of years past when he played with Chara as a youngster. Who knows?? For a 3rd round pick, he appeared to look pretty comfortable in his very first game as a Bruin.