Montreal hopes that Mešár will be a center. Slafkovský had no influence on his choice – SlovakNHL.sk

Slovak forward Filip Mešár completed a development camp in Montreal after the Canadiens drafted him 26th overall this year. They would like to see him play in North America next season. It is not yet known whether it will be in Laval from the professional AHL or Kitchener from the junior OHL, but the “Habs” would be happy if the eighteen-year-old native of Spišská Bela gets used to the post of center, despite the fact that he played among men for the last two seasons in Poprad as a wingman. Nick Bobrov, director of amateur scouting for the Canadiens, confirmed this for Stu Cowen from the Montreal Gazette, adding that it is never guaranteed that he will eventually be able to play in the NHL at this position. In addition, Bobrov ruled out that the fact that the club drafted his very good friend Juraj Slafkovský from the first place would influence the choice of Mešár. He was simply the player that suited the team the most at that point in the draft. Article continues below advertisement

“We saw him often. He’s one of those guys who can skate, create a play and has a really good brain. He is tenacious. The fact that we somehow ended up with two friends in the same first round is a bit of God’s providence and coincidence. This boy is focused. We did a lot of homework and asked Craig Ramsay, Tomáš Tatar and people who know him about him,” Bobrov noted. Cowen closely followed the development camp of the two young Slovaks and was excited. And although Mešár is in the shadow of the “dinosaur” Slafkovski, the Canadian journalist also has good feelings about him. “There are players who look like really good hockey players even when they are standing still on their skates. I also noticed this with Mešár on the first day of the development camp, when he was standing on the blue with his hockey stick on his knees waiting for the beginning of the exercise during training. When the exercise started, I remembered what Bobrov had said. The mixer is really fast, smart, fickle and intelligent,” said Cowen. “He’s not a dinosaur, but like his friend, he’s a first-round draft pick. It should be fun to watch these two Slovak teenagers grow together with the Canadiens.”