Jean-François Houle has made a decision with his starting lineup, and bad news has struck the Canadiens' 2022 first-round pick, Filip Mesar. He will be scratched from the lineup for the inaugural meeting at Place Bell tonight.
It is interesting to note that Emil Heineman and Joshua Roy will find themselves on the first line, while Riley Kidney and Sean Farrell will be in the top-9. As for Logan Mailloux, he will play on the first pair with Mathias Norlinder.
Returning to Mesar, things do not look very good for what follows for him, who had mentioned last July that he would make the jump to the AHL this year. He was among the surpluses today, along with, among others, Jan Mysak, Jared Davidson, Nathan Légaré, and Nicolas Beaudin.
A return to the CHL for the 19-year-old Slovak seems evident. He does not have the level to play in Laval on the top three lines this year, and rather than having him play in a limited role, it is better to see him play big minutes in the OHL for the sake of his development.
