It's hard to get noticed when you live in the shadow of a first overall pick. That's what I'm currently experiencing with the Montreal Canadiens' other first overall pick, Slovakian Filip Mesar. Claimed 26th in the amateur auction last summer, the 5-foot-10 forward has a quality that will make him a valued player in the Montreal Canadiens organization. He is spectacular. At least that's what Frantisek Stolc, the sports director of Poprad HK SKP, a team in the top Slovak league where Mesar has played for the past two seasons, told us. In an interview with TVA Sports journalist Anthony Martineau, the man who has analyzed the young man over the past two campaigns is nuanced when it comes to talking about Filip Mesar. A scout from the Montreal Canadiens organization, whose name was not revealed, is not as nuanced, since he drew a parallel between the 18-year-old forward and a certain Alexei Kovalev. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Antho_Martineau/status/1567507647909199877'> </a></blockquote></div> <q>« Filip is no Alexei Kovalev, but back in the day, people would pay to see #27 in training because he was so spectacular. Mesar is in that category. He's a spectacular player who doesn't skimp on making sure his feints and graceful moves are at the highest level possible. - TVA Sports.</q> Although he doesn't have the biggest frame, his speed makes him one of the most electrifying players in Slovakia. Since the age of 15, he has been playing with men in his country. His speed and his hands are two assets that allowed him to reach the first round. This means that the Slovak Filip Mesar, like Alexei Kovalev, has a very important asset up his sleeve, that of showmanship.