(Arlington) Much was made last season of the adaptation of Juraj Slafkovsky to North American rinks. While the very first choice of the 2022 draft was learning the hard way in the NHL, his friend and compatriot Filip Mesar, also selected in the first round by the Canadian, was learning the same thing. It was happening far from the spotlight, however, with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Junior League.
Mesar has looked good, amassing 51 points in 52 games during the season as part of a midfield team. Above all, he had the opportunity to acclimatize completely to his new environment, he explained to reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the NHL Rookie Showcase, presented in Arlington, in the suburbs of Washington.
“Kitchener was a good place to play,” he said. We had good players, I made good friends, my host family took care of me… Not everything worked out for our team, but it was a great experience. Now I know what to expect. »
While many Europeans say they need time to acclimatize to the ice rinks here, which are smaller than those found on the Old Continent, Mesar claims to have had no problems. After the rookie tournament and Habs training camp last fall, he had found his bearings, he said. The striker had also spent a few weeks skating in Montreal during the summer of 2022.
In Kitchener, he mostly found the junior club schedule taxing. A season of almost 70 games, twenty more than the European leagues. The Rangers also played two playoff rounds. “But you get used to it,” he said.
While most young players routinely talk about wanting to play in the NHL, Mesar is more circumspect about it. Although coaches told him at the team’s recent development camp that they wanted him to play “in a big league” from now on, he doesn’t deny that what’s next for him will likely be in the American League, with the Laval Rockets. “I’m concentrating on the main camp and then we’ll see. I have to be well prepared. »
Candid, he admits that he would like to participate in a third and final World Junior Championship, after seeing his team do well during the last presentation. On January 2, Slovakia came close to causing a near-historic upset when a duel against Canada ended up in extra time. A goal from Connor Bedard, however, cut short Slovakian hopes.
At the next World Cup, played in Gothenburg, Sweden, Filip Mesar hopes “to be a good leader” for his club, which “will aim for the gold medal”. The national team could possibly count on Simon Nemec and Dalibor Dvorsky, two first-round picks from the last drafts.
“But I don’t think we’ll get Slaf,” he added, with a half-smile.
That shouldn’t actually happen. He found his eternal accomplice two weeks ago in Montreal. The two live and train together, and they will likely be able to see each other often during the season if the two remain, as planned, in the metro area.
Slafkovsky’s junior career, however, is well and truly over. That of Mesar is almost too. But we feel in his voice that he would like to put an end to it with a medal.