Montreal Canadiens rookie Filip Mesar is in the middle of a year full of changes: moving from Slovakia to Canada, learning a new culture and North American ice hockey, while also learning a little French!

• Also read: Playing with Team Canada Junior: a guarantee of success in the NHL?

The Habs’ first-round picks in the last draft seem to be adapting well to the rigors of hockey here. With the Ontario Junior League’s Kitchener Rangers, he had 22 points in 17 games before representing his country at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Before meeting Canada in Monday’s quarterfinals, he had scored five points in his first four games of the tournament and averaged just over 20 minutes (20:03) per game.

“I like being overused like this,” he said. I’m more active on the puck and feel good. We have a very good group of players and I feel comfortable in the dressing room and on the ice.

French and swear words

That sense of confidence was also felt in each of the responses the 5ft, 10in, 176lb winger gave to the Canadian media on the eve of the quarter-final game against Canada. A colleague pointed out the quality of his English and then asked how many languages ​​he spoke.

“Only two [anglais et slovaque]; but i also speak a little german and can say a few words in french,” he said, laughing.

– Ah yes, what can you say in French?

– A few forbidden words.

– Can you tell us who taught it to you? Joshua Roy?

– Maybe, he concluded with a smile.

We’re still not sure if the Sherbrooke Phœnix forward is to blame for teaching Mesar some Quebec folklore, but the fact remains that Roy appreciated what he could of his possible during the Habs’ last training camp future teammates saw.

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

mentor

Mesar will benefit from the experience gained over the past year. With the Slovakia team, he meets young hopeful Dalibor Dvorsky, another athlete from his country who will likely hear his name fairly quickly in the next repechage race.

Both the Canadian hopeful and defenseman Simon Nemec, the New Jersey Devils’ last draft pick and just behind Juraj Slafkovsky, took him under their wing.

“I can trust them, that’s 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’s a very experienced player, a good skater and he has above-average hockey intelligence. He’s proven that with his great passes since the start of the tournament. He also plays a lot of minutes but is in good physical shape. It’s not a problem for him.”