HALIFAX | Montreal Canadiens prospect Filip Mesar is in the middle of a year of complete changes: moving from Slovakia to Canada, learning about a new culture and North American hockey and, also, a bit of French !

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The Habs' first-round pick in the last draft seems to be adjusting well to the rigors of hockey here. With the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Junior League, he had 22 points in 17 games before leaving to represent his country at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Before facing Canada in the quarter-finals on Monday, he had scored five points in his first four games of the tournament and averaged just over 20 minutes (20:03) on the ice per game.

“I like being overused like that,” he said. I'm more active on the pucks and I feel good. We have a very good group of players and I feel comfortable in the locker room and on the ice. »

French and swear words

This feeling of confidence was also felt in each of the answers offered by the winger of 5 ft 10 in and 176 lb, in front of the Canadian media on the eve of the quarter-final match against Canada. A colleague pointed out to him the quality of his English, then asked him how many languages ​​he spoke.

“Only two [English and Slovak], but I also speak a little German and I can say a few words in French,” he mentioned with a laugh.

- Ah yes, what can you say, in French?

- A few forbidden words.

- Can you tell us who taught them to you? Joshua Roy?

- Maybe, he concluded, with a smile.

We still don't know exactly if the Sherbrooke Phoenix forward is guilty of having taught Mesar a part of Quebec folklore, but the fact remains that Roy appreciated what he saw of his possible future teammate during of the Habs' last training camp.

"He surprised me," he said. He is really. He and [Owen] Beck were the two players who surprised me the most, just like everyone else. Mesar is pretty much one of the best on the other side in this tournament. »

Mentor

The experience gained over the past year is not only useful to Mesar personally. With the Slovak team, he rubs shoulders with young hopeful Dalibor Dvorsky, another athlete from his country who may hear his name spoken quite quickly during the next repechage.

The Canadian hopeful, as well as defender Simon Nemec, second choice of the last draft by the New Jersey Devils, just behind Juraj Slafkovsky, made sure to take him under their wing.

“I can trust them for sure. They are two excellent players and good leaders. They are a very important part of our team and I learn a lot from them,” said the 17-year-old forward.

On the ice, Dvorsky has a front row seat to appreciate Mesar's game.

“He is a player with a lot of skills, a good skater and he has above average hockey intelligence. He has demonstrated this with the superb passes he has made since the start of the tournament. In addition, he plays a lot of minutes but he is in good physical condition. It's not a problem for him. »