Help me understand the whole Meszaros deal...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Marc the Habs Fan

Moderator
Nov 30, 2002
98,349
10,386
Longueuil
In the weeks leading up to the '04 draft, many people and many scouting services seemed high on Mesz. One service, IIRC, was really low on him (ISS? :dunno: ) but the rest had him as a top 15 pick, without a doubt. He was billed as an offensive defenceman with a pretty mature defensive game. He was good enough to play for Slovakia at the WC that spring. A solid top 3 D at the NHL level seemed to be his upside, with a chance to be a very good top pairing guy.

It was a so-so draft and many felt Mesz would be the 2nd or 3rd d-man picked and gone by the time Buffalo picked at 13. I was convinced there was no chance the Habs would get a crack at him at 18.

The draft goes on...Meszaros doesn't go top 10. Smid goes 9th to ANA. Valabik went 10th overall to ATL. Thelen 12th overall to Minny. Buffalo, in dire need of a solid defensive prospect, opts for Stafford. The Islanders, also needing a blue chip D, grab Nokelainen. Habs, also lacking a bluechip D prospect with Hainsey on the verge of flaming out at the time, grab Chipchura, angering me for weeks although I have come around on him and hope he can emerge into an excellent 3rd line center. Maybe these teams had Meszaros ranked as the 2nd or 3rd best prospect left on their list, we will probably never know.

Teams who have drafted well like NJ, COL and SJ pass on Meszaros...and of course, who else but the Senators to show everyone they made a mistake in their evaluation by grabbing Meszaros, no doubt laughing all the way to the freaking bank. The rest is history. Meszaros has a very good WHL season, makes the loaded Sens at age 19, looks like a 15 year vet in the process and will no doubt become yet another gem picked late in the first round for Ottawa.

So basically my question is why in god's name did he fall to 23 overall in that draft? Did he show up to the combine overweight? Did his attitude piss people off during the interview process? What's the deal? Every year there is always a great talent that falls for various reasons (skating, size, attitude) but there just doesn't seem to be any logical explanation on Meszaros not getting picked earlier in a so-so draft.
 

Lowetide

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
13,281
11
Marc the Habs Fan said:
In the weeks leading up to the '04 draft, many people and many scouting services seemed high on Mesz. One service, IIRC, was really low on him (ISS? :dunno: )

ISS had him 4.
 

The Mars Volchenkov

Registered User
Mar 31, 2002
49,604
3,421
Colorado
I don't know why he fell, but boy am I glad he did. He looks like a 10 year veteran out there. He's getting better and better every game. I'd be stunned if he wasn't playing for Slovakia in the Olympics.
 

Marc the Habs Fan

Moderator
Nov 30, 2002
98,349
10,386
Longueuil
Maybe it was those lunatics at CSB who did not like him. I just checked, ISS had him top 10 in their mock draft and loved him...and RLR was also high on him.

Anyways, I still want a legit reason. :rant: :D
 

nneate

Registered User
Jul 24, 2005
1,158
0
Canada
Havlat was an absolute steal at 26th overall, Meszaros is pretty high up there at 23rd overall, I love the senators scouting staff :D
 

Cat Called Bobcat

Registered User
Dec 3, 2003
1,668
1
Ottawa
Visit site
I don't know either, but I don't think it was his attitude. I've read that the kid wanted badly to come over to North America, learn English, and learn to play tough defense in the WHL. I'm sure he expressed that in pre-draft interviews. It's a stumper, for sure.
 

Jason MacIsaac

Registered User
Jan 13, 2004
22,221
5,936
Halifax, NS
Pretty hard to judge other teams passing on him, many teams draft a player projecting them a certain place in 5 years. Who's to say his progression isn't like Schultz for Minnesota.
 

Roy G Biv*

Guest
There were questions about his physical game. And we know how GM's like passing on skill and picking large immobile projects instead. It made no sense for someone like Valabik to go before him.

Anyway, he showed in Vancouver that he could handle the rough and tough WHL. In fact, he showed a mean streak and was labelled dirty by some people.

With Volchenkov out, he's been playing in the top 4 with Redden. I cannot believe how solid he has been.
 

jmelm

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Feb 27, 2002
13,412
3,822
Toronto, Canada
nneate said:
Havlat was an absolute steal at 26th overall, Meszaros is pretty high up there at 23rd overall, I love the senators scouting staff :D

I'm pretty sure that Havlat was rated in the top 2 or 3 among Europeans by Central Scouting.

It was probably concerns about his character that made him drop (a la Schremp). So it wasn't as if he was a real "find" or surprise.

Having said that about Havlat, the Sens scouting staff is sensational.
 

hockeyfan125

Registered User
Jul 10, 2004
20,017
0
Meszaros was not seen as physical at all. He said in interviews in Vancouver that he was never tested in Slovakia, and played a passive game. He is the type of player that really flourished in the WHL, and was a dominating force by the end of the year.
 

Sting

Registered User
Feb 8, 2004
7,902
2,896
jtuzzi said:
Meszaros was not seen as physical at all. He said in interviews in Vancouver that he was never tested in Slovakia, and played a passive game. He is the type of player that really flourished in the WHL, and was a dominating force by the end of the year.

Yep..going into the draft he was considered soft and wouldn't be able to transition to a North American game. Boy did he prove those scouts wrong, lol.
 

Blane Youngblood

Registered User
Jun 17, 2003
3,469
0
Visit site
Sting004 said:
Yep..going into the draft he was considered soft and wouldn't be able to transition to a North American game. Boy did he prove those scouts wrong, lol.

Initially in the Dub he seem a little gun shy initially. He tried to play tough, but for the first while, you could see he was constantly checking his face and just having a tough time dealing with everyday aches and pains...I'd say his time in the Dub deffinitly helped him develop his physical game in a league he could handle.
 

sensens

Registered User
Jun 11, 2003
2,765
26
Vancouver
Visit site
Sting004 said:
Yep..going into the draft he was considered soft and wouldn't be able to transition to a North American game. Boy did he prove those scouts wrong, lol.
Something that I've often referred to when discussing Meszaros, and something that I think somehow went unnoticed by some teams on draft day, is his remarkably strong feel and passion for the game. He was playing international hockey for Slovakia at a surprisingly young age, and that's often an indication of a player who 'gets it' beyond whatever may come through on the stats sheet or from the tale of the tape. I remember going to watch him play for the Giants (WHL) - even very early in the season - and being immediately struck by his presence on the ice. He has a noticeable desire to be THE guy on the ice, and a genuine willingness to address those parts of his game that need work. He's definitely added strength and an edge to his game, and I think that if scouts had been given benefit of seeing his WHL performance, he probably would have been drafted much higher.

That being said, there were some pretty good players who were drafted ahead of Meszaros who have yet to make their mark in the NHL. It's true that he's made an early impact, but you have to wait until guys like Stafford, Thelan, Zajac, Korpikoski, etc. make their way into the NHL before judging those teams too harshly for passing on Meszaros. Of course there were definitely some teams drafting for need in there as well, which can often allow a strong player to slip through the cracks. All context aside, though, the Senators really are a pretty impressive drafting team. In years where their 'earned' 1st round pick was in the 20's, they now have consecutive picks of Havlat ('99), Volchenkov ('00), Gleason ('01), Eaves ('03) and Meszaros ('04). Few teams can match their track record of later-1st-round gold mining and player development.

But speaking of the '04 draft in particular, I definitely remember watching it and hoping that Meszaros would fall to 23rd. Muckler practically jumped out of his chair when San Jose took Lukas Kaspar - having already stated that Ottawa was desperately hoping to add a quality defenceman to their arsenal of prospects. I thought he might just head off into the crowd to go take Meszaros' hand, whip out a corsage, and escort him to the podium. I also remember my first impression of Meszaros was a very positive one - he came up to the podium with an enormous smile on his face and seemed genuinely thrilled to have been drafted by Ottawa. You see so many stoic, lumbering bodies come up to shake hands with the dignitaries at the draft that it seems sometimes like these guys are going to the dentist. Meszaros looked like he was coming up to spin the wheel on the Price is Right. And that kind of enthusiasm just saturates his game - it's almost impossible not to like this kid. Of course there will be mistakes made along the way, but I think any coach in the league would tolerate a few mistakes from a 20yr old player of his callibre if he continues to play with the kind of poise and dedication that he's shown so far. So far, he's putting in one of the most noteworthy rookie campaigns that this team has seen in a while, and given the team in question that is definitely saying something.
 

MS

1%er
Mar 18, 2002
53,367
83,458
Vancouver, BC
jtuzzi said:
Meszaros was not seen as physical at all. He said in interviews in Vancouver that he was never tested in Slovakia, and played a passive game. He is the type of player that really flourished in the WHL, and was a dominating force by the end of the year.

He wasn't considered outstanding in any area, really. The book at the time was that he was a poised, intelligent player but not really gritty, not overly skilled, and not particularly big. The thinking from a lot of people at the time was that he lacked upside as a result. I remember someone comparing him to Radislav Suchy - smart and serviceable, but more of a depth player. Obviously his abilities were very under-rated by almost everyone at the time. Especially his grit and defensive intensity.
 

McDonald19

Registered User
Sep 9, 2003
22,958
3,824
California
Anaheim was scouting Smid all year and they really liked him more than Meszaros.

Minnesota made the right pick at the time taking the Minnesota native Thelen.

now...Atlanta taking Valabik?? They wanted a big mean defenseman I guess...
 

Hasbro

Family Friend
Sponsor
Apr 1, 2004
52,415
16,383
South Rectangle
So the 2004 draft projects to have 3 latefirst rounders who some teams will be kicking themselves for passing. Wolski, Schremp and Meszaros.
 

GKJ

Global Moderator
Feb 27, 2002
185,669
37,463
nneate said:
Havlat was an absolute steal at 26th overall, Meszaros is pretty high up there at 23rd overall, I love the senators scouting staff :D


I don't think that was the Senators scouting staff, it was about 14 teams in front of them being idiots. I couldn't fathom his drop either...i thought for sure Atlanta would take him, if not the Wild
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->