For two months, it's been (absolutely) tough for Philippe Mazar in the OHL

A few months ago, Philippe Mazar was making waves in Montreal for the right reasons. The young Canadian was bouncing back in the OHL after a more difficult 2022-23 season, and after a more impressive WJC, things seemed to be heading in the right direction for Messar.

It was a good feeling, especially after difficult months for the young Slovak striker.

When the Kitchener Rangers acquired promising Edward Sale, there was reason to believe that Messar would continue to shine offensively… but in the end, that is far from the case.

In fact, in 20 games since his return from the WJC tournament, Mazar has collected just 17 points, which puts him on a slower pace than one point per game production.

For a 20-year-old who isn't necessarily a more defensive player (like Owen Beck, for example), it's a bit disappointing.

However, it's not all negative either: Messar is already producing less, but his role was bound to change, as he improved defensively.

Here's an interesting comment on our subreddit from a Kitchener Rangers fan that sheds some light on Habs prospect Filip Messar.

👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/bJvPwKmV1I

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) March 3, 2024

We see Messer playing a lot of duels only at the beginning of the season (he played around fifteen duels per game for a few weeks while he only participated in a handful of duels in the first months of the season), and even he is not necessarily excellent at this level and this is far from it. Bad with an efficiency rate of 49.39% last month.

Messer said a few weeks ago that he would be ready if CH wanted to try him out in the midfield position (even if he sees himself primarily as a winger), and for now, he's at least able to prove he can get his way out of trouble in the face-off circle.

However, even if he shows interesting progress at the position, the offensive production still has to arrive eventually. He's still one of the team's top offensive prospects, and seeing him produce less than a point a game for two months (while he had 32 points in his first 20 games) is a bit concerning.

49 points in 40 games over one season isn't disastrous… but he'll eventually have to start producing again like Mizar did at the start of the season if he wants to be part of the team's future in Montreal in an offensive role.

a lot of

– Jake Allen has arrived with the Devils.

-If John Tortorella is fined for his actions last night, the Flyers owner will pay it.

– Name of the view.

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#New York The club has agreed to extend goalkeeper Luis Domingo's contract by one year.

Full details ⬇️ https://t.co/kCwmYmtWml

– New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 10, 2024

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