Habs Prospects

Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings: Mesar Makes Big Jump

Published

2 years ago

January 4, 2023

Montreal Canadiens prospect WJC filip mesar

With the vast majority of the top players in the Montreal Canadiens prospect pool busy playing for their countries at the 2023 World Junior Championship, we welcome back the Canadiens prospect power rankings for the first edition of 2023.

Thanks to an excellent showing for Slovakia, Filip Mesar makes the biggest jump up the list this week.

Jared Davidson and Logan Mailloux also enjoyed a bump, whereas Oliver Kapanen and Cedrick Guindon slipped.

Let’s get right into it.

Reminder:

The Canadiens prospect power rankings are based on the overall season, as well as the most recent week of action. Factors such as the strength of a prospect’s team, the league in which they play, their age, and expectations related to their draft position will also be considered. Prospects playing in professional leagues based in Europe, will, however, be included.

Week 1: Lane Hutson Takes Top Spot

Week 2: Owen Beck Jumps To First

Week 3: Lots Of Movement In The Top 10

Week 4: Lane Hutson Back In First Place

Week 5: Prospects Heating Up Ahead Of WJC

Week 6: Sean Farrell’s Impressive Scoring

Week 7: Filip Mesar Shines

Week 8: Owen Beck Takes Over First Place

Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings Week 9

1. Owen Beck, Centre, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL). Drafted: 32nd overall (2022), Age: 18

Last Week: *U20 WJC* 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A. Season Totals: 24 GP, 16 G, 23 A, 39 PTS

Previous Ranking: 1st

Despite not starting the tournament with Team Canada, Owen Beck earned an invite to join the team in the Maritimes due to an unfortunate injury to Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach.

He was used sparingly by Canada’s head coach Dennis Williams despite Canada’s inability to win an important faceoff, which did raise some eyebrows throughout the country.

Williams justified the lack of minutes by explaining Beck was…very good in his two shifts, a rather confusing message to say the least.

🇨🇦 coach Dennis Williams on Owen Beck's debut:

"He played two shifts for us. Great track & got us a power play. Like, that’s an important shift. A lot of people may look at that and say, ‘Oh, he played a minute.’ Well, that was a big minute. We needed that minute from him."

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 3, 2023

There’s no word whether Beck will play a bigger role in Canada’s semi-final matchup with Lane Hutson and the USA on Wednesday night, but if Williams wants his team to control a little more of the play, he’d be wise to call upon the 18-year-old centre when the game is on the line.

2. Filip Mesar, Right Wing, Kitchener Rangers (OHL). Drafted: 26th overall (2022). Age: 18

Points This Week: *U20 WJC* 5 GP, 2 G, 4 A. Season Totals: 17 GP, 10 G, 12 A, 22 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 5th (+3)

Much like the rest of his team, Filip Mesar started the 2023 World Junior Championship slowly but quickly found his rhythm earning six points in the following four games, including a fantastic game-tying assist against Canada in the quarterfinal.

Mesar finished the tournament with the best game score among Slovak forwards as well as the best game score among Canadiens prospects.

His creativity, vision and willingness to engage physically were on full display and should serve him well as he returns to the OHL.

Mesar (MTL) had a strong tournament and it's pretty criminal he wasn't named a top-3 player on the team by his coaches. A top transition forward in the tournament, a lot of pucks to the middle, solid offensive profile. #GoHabsGo https://t.co/UGPQiGRwQs pic.twitter.com/njxZ1gvDEg

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) January 3, 2023

It’s also worth pointing out that his OHL team, the Kitchener Rangers, has acquired Danny Zhilkin from the Guelph Storm as well as Francesco Arcuri from the Kingston Frontenacs, which should lead to more open ice and scoring opportunities for Mesar.

3. Lane Hutson, Defenceman, Boston University (NCAA). Drafted: 62nd overall (2022) Age: 18

Points This Week: *U20 WJC* 5 GP, 1 G, 2 A. Season Totals: 16 GP, 7 G, 11 A, 18 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 2nd (-1)

Hutson has enjoyed a solid tournament, though it should be noted that his scoring pace is not representative of his overall level of play.

The 18-year-old defenceman struggled slightly when it came to controlled exits, but lead the tournament in completed passes in high-danger areas.

He will face Beck and Joshua Roy in Wednesday’s semi-final, a classic rivalry matchup between Canada and the USA.

Lane Hutson (MTL) has been a standout offensively, leading the tournament in completed slot passes among defencemen. Having a completion % on the lower side tells you he's really been experimenting and pushing his limits. A lot of other good stuff, too. #GoHabsGo https://t.co/5Ll25tA8wd pic.twitter.com/mKZnYUOh1A

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) January 3, 2023

4. Sean Farrell, C/LW, Harvard University (NCAA). Drafted: 124th overall (2020), Age: 21

Points This Week: 1 GP, 0 G, 1 A Season Totals: 13 GP, 7 G, 13 A, 20 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 3rd (-1)

Farrell played his first game in over a month, an 8-4 drubbing of Jayden Struble and Northeastern University.

He earned an assist on Harvard’s first insurance goal in the second period and currently sits third overall in the NCAA with 1.54 points per game.

Last season, Farrell finished the schedule with an impressive three shots per game, and he’s actually managed to improve his shooting rate this season, pushing it to four shots per game on average.

5. Joshua Roy, Right Wing, Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL). Drafted: 150th overall (2021), Age: 19

Points This Week: *U20 WJC* 5 GP, 3 G, 3 A. Season Totals: 26 GP, 18 G, 25 A, 43 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 4th (-1)

Joshua Roy has enjoyed a very solid 2023 World Junior Championship and has featured alongside phenom Connor Bedard at 5v5 for the majority of the tournament.

Joshua Roy 57 seconds in❗️🇨🇦 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/eNdGR2MYNj

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 31, 2022

The tournament served as an important reminder Roy’s skillset meshes nicely with high-end talent, and that his slightly lower-scoring pace in the QMJHL this season is probably not worth losing any sleep over.

The improvement in Joshua Roy's skating is very evident in this tournament.

Just look at this back check. A year ago he would not have been this quick to get back. pic.twitter.com/e9NFAtU3KV

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) January 3, 2023

6. Adam Engstrom, Defenceman. Rogle BK Angelholm (SHL). Drafted: 92nd overall (2022), Age: 19

Points This Week: *U20 WJC* 5 GP, 1 G, 2 A. Season Totals: 23 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 PTS.

Previous Rank: 6th (unchanged)

Engstrom has been a revelation this year, not just because of his stellar performance at the WJC, but also due to his quick ascension to Rogle’s top pairing earlier this season as an 18-year-old.

His vision, skating, and creativity stand out in the Canadiens prospect pool, a skillset that is unmatched by any player not named Hutson.

Not only and may have a future in goaltending if the whole defenceman thing doesn’t work out.

The Habs’ prospect Adam Engstrom’s goal today for Sweden #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ivtSm69hFx

— Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) December 27, 2022

7. Jared Davidson, Centre, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL). Drafted: 130th overall. Age: 20

Points This Week: 4 GP, 3 G, 5 A. Season Totals: 29 GP, 19 G, 28 A, 47 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 8 (+1)

Jared Davidson plays hockey to do three things: score tons of points, chew bubble gum, and kick ass.

Unfortunately for Kelowna Rockets forward John Babcock, Davidson was out of bubble gum on New Year’s eve and decided to sleep his opponent with a one-puck knockout.

Since we last published the Canadiens prospect power rankings, Davidson has earned eight points in four games, including his 12th and 13th multi-point efforts of the season.

Yes, he’s older than most players on this list, but it’s rather difficult to ignore his impressive scoring rate.

https://montreal.nationalhockeynow.com/2022/12/31/gotta-see-it-montreal-canadiens-prospect-with-a-one-punch-knockout/

8. Oliver Kapanen, Centre, Kalpa (Liiga). Drafted: 64th overall (2021), Age: 19

Points This Week: *U20 WJC* 5 GP, 2 G, 1 A. Season Totals: 31 GP, 7 G, 7 A, 14 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 7th (-1)

Oliver Kapanen had a decent, if not an unspectacular tournament for Finland. He scored a pair of goals and hit several posts, not to mention he showed a good amount of effort on every shift, but his overall lack of offence and Finland’s inability to earn a spot in the semi-finals led to a slight drop for the 2021 Draft pick.

Habs’ prospect Oliver Kapanen’s goal today va Sweden pic.twitter.com/t0LN0hw25T

— Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) January 2, 2023

9. Riley Kidney, Centre, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL). Drafted: 63rd overall (2021), Age: 19

Points This Week: 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A. Season Totals: 31 GP, 14 G, 31 A, 45 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 9th

It was a curious week for Riley Kidney, who was unfortunately among the last cuts at Canada’s WJC selection camp. Once a roster spot opened up, Canada preferred to give Beck an opportunity in the lineup rather than Kidney, who is a Halifax native, which speaks to Beck’s versatility versus Kidney’s offence-orientated style of play.

Kidney was held scoreless in two of his three games since being cut, but he did earn four points in Acadie-Bathurst’s 6-3 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs.

10. Logan Mailloux, Defenceman, London Knights (OHL). Drafted: 31st overall (2021), Age: 19

Points This Week: 2 GP, 1 G, 3 A. Season Totals: 26 GP, 11 G, 14 A, 25 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 13th (+3)

The oft-maligned defenceman makes his way into the top 10 this week due to a very strong showing offensively, as well as Cedrick Guindon’s current scoring slump.

Unfortunately, Mailloux likely drops out of the top 10 next week, seeing as the first-round pick was recently suspended for an incident against the Sarnia Sting.

Logan Mailloux with a bit of an overreaction here to his goaltender taking a hit.

I love D-men standing up for their goaltenders, but in a 7-4 game you don't really need to go HAM with gloved punches on a downed guy. Little restraint would go a long way. pic.twitter.com/uWu2gkt9I3

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) December 31, 2022