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We’ve finally found someone who believes in Filip Mesar
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
We’ve finally found someone who believes in Filip Mesar
Credit: Getty Images
Have you noticed that since the start of the Laval playoffs, Filip Mesar hasn’t been playing at all?

If Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, who drafted Mesar in 2022, aren’t forcing Pascal Vincent to play him in his first full pro year in North America, it’s because the project is going from bad to worse.

The Habs did it for Jacob Fowler… but not for Mesar.

The way Mesar is playing, it’s getting harder and harder to find people to defend him. And when I say people, I mean other than Juraj Slafkovsky, Habs management, Pascal Vincent or someone connected with the Canadiens.

And why is that? Because his performances simply aren’t up to scratch.

(Credit: Hockey DB)
But with a little digging, we managed to find someone who was willing, publicly, to say that Filip Mesar still has a good chance of breaking into the National Hockey League.

“Someone.” It’s Grok, actually.

X’s artificial intelligence program answered one of my questions about the Canadiens’ off-season (I was eager to see his answer, which sounds a lot like what you read elsewhere) and told me, without warning, about Mesar.

Here’s what was said.

Players like Joel Armia, who has been traded to the Rocket on several occasions, may not return to the regular lineup, especially if young forwards like Ivan Demidov or Filip Mesar continue to develop. – Grok
Obviously, seeing Ivan Demidov and Filip Mesar in the same category made me react. The fact that they’re both first-round picks probably tipped Grok towards that answer, I thought. Maybe that says something about AI, some might say.

So I had to ask what the chances were of Mesar becoming an NHL player. And… in the short term, it’s still more than I could have expected.

Mesar’s chances of becoming a regular NHL player next season are moderate, probably around 30-40%. – Grok

In the medium term (i.e., two or three years), Grok talks of a 60-70% chance of becoming an NHL player if he continues to progress. He’ll have to “improve his physical strength, offensive consistency and defensive play” to get there.

So he’s got to improve quite a bit… everything.

Of course, you know you have to take some and leave some with this exercise, which I did for the fun of it. But my real point as a human being is this: Mesar is left out of the series for a reason.

And that reason is undoubtedly that the Habs don’t really believe in him anymore. Otherwise, he’d at least play a little.

Because he’s a first-round pick, he’ll have chances. But let’s not forget that the Justin Barron deal is a reminder that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton aren’t afraid to fix their mistakes.

So if Mesar isn’t the man for the job, he won’t get much playing time. He’ll have to earn it (which he hasn’t shown himself capable of doing for a few years now) if he’s ever to get any ice time again.


overtime

– Of note.

– Interesting.

– Good point.

– Indeed.

– Really?

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