(Sherbrooke) Stéphane Julien may have Joshua Roy in his squad, but he could have welcomed a second Canadian hopeful: Filip Mesar.
The head coach of the Sherbrooke Phœnix indeed spied on a young Mesar a few years ago. With what he saw, he thought it best to try to lure him to Estrie for his junior hockey. But the project finally fell through and it is rather in Kitchener, in the Ontario Junior League, that the other first-round choice of the Habs in the last draft continues its development.
“He has the same agent as me when I was playing in Europe,” says Julien.
The coach saw Mesar up close as Canada faced Slovakia in the quarter-finals of the World Junior Championship. The smaller forward got an assist on his team’s tying goal, which forced overtime.
“I have always loved him, pleads Julien. He has above average hockey sense, very fast hands, more than people think, and very good skating. He is agile and intelligent. Him, what will make the difference is the physical dimension. Can he manage one-on-one in the corners? Can he take his game to another level in tight spaces? »
Owen Beck, the other center that the Canadian drafted early in 2022 (second round, at 33e row), also pleased Julien. Originally, Beck was cut, but an injury to Colton Dach forced his recall.
PHOTO RON WARD, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Owen Beck
Julien took part in the recruitment, which included a crossover process; he watched players from Ontario and the West, his counterparts watched players from the QMJHL. This is how he often saw Beck play.
“I saw him play six games and in camp I really liked him. He was borderline at camp, but we made the right decision. He was the best face-off player on our list, by far. He’s a big guy, strong, hard to move.
“At the Canadian camp, I liked him, he turned me on. I don’t think he will be a top 6 in the NHL, he needs to improve his skating. But he has a very nice personality and he fits well in a team culture. He is very strong physically. He will fight for two or three years to try to climb, but he will have his chance. »
The scout’s report
Julien has not seen defender Adam Engström (Sweden) and striker Oliver Kapanen (Finland) enough to comment on them. But he was kind enough to deliver some observations on the two other hopefuls of the Canadian present at the World Junior Championship.
Lane Hutson, defenseman, United States, four points (one goal, three assists) in seven games: “He’s very good, proactive, very agile. It goes with the turn that the Canadian wanted to make. I think that eventually he will have his chance in Montreal. »
Vinzenz Rohrer, striker, Austria, three points (one goal, two assists) in five games: “I found him good, but it’s not easy to evaluate in a weaker team [l’Autriche a perdu ses trois premiers matchs par un pointage combiné de 31-0]. It has a tick on the others. He is dedicated, he competed. But it is hard to assess in this context. »