Victor Mete spent his minor midget year playing for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens.
He wore the blue, white and red and starred his way to an eighth overall selection in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection.
On Monday, Mete took a stride closer to pulling on the bleu, blanc et rouge of the Montreal Canadiens as he signed an entry-level contract with the team that drafted him in the fourth round, 100th overall in 2016.
The entire process was something special, right down to the pen in Mete’s hand.
“I had a pen that was given to me by a close family member when I was drafted and I used that to sign.”
Mete is one of the most explosive skaters in the OHL. That’s the most obvious thing you notice about him, but if you look at what makes him an elite defenceman in major junior, there’s a long list. His IQ is off the charts. He is as competitive as anyone on the ice and has worked hard on all areas of his game. Mete also never shies away from a challenge.
Knights’ assistant coach, Rick Steadman, remembers back to Mete’s first season and a playoff series against the Erie Otters. The Knights’ coaching staff decided to see just what he could do.
“We asked him to play against Connor McDavid and he jumped at the chance and he was awesome.
“He really shut him down for us. Ever since then, he’s been that character guy. He leads by example on the ice and he just has that personality where everyone wants to follow him and be around him.”
Mete smiles when asked about it.
“That sure got me ready for what is to come. Being able to play against someone like Connor McDavid and other great players in the league right away was such a great experience for me.”
Mete regularly goes up against forwards who outweigh him by 20 or 30 pounds and stand four or five inches taller, but his craftiness, his IQ and his tenacity often have those bigger guys in the penalty box as games wear down because he frustrates them so much.
“You can’t give them the time and space (that they want),” Mete said, as if it was as simple as it sounds. “I can’t out-muscle them, but I can use my speed and quickness to stay with them and take the puck away when I get the chance.”
Steadman points to Mete’s understanding of the game and the players he is going one-on-one with.
“He’s very good at trapping guys. He’ll let them go back and forth and stay with them and they wind up making a mistake and as soon as he sees it, Vic cuts inside their arms and he’s gone.”
Gone is a great way to describe it. He has scored two goals this season that made his opposition look as though they were standing on the side of the road watching him skate by. He blew right past and finished at the net and that offence is always a threat, although it never trumps his defensive responsibilities.
Mete might have one of the quickest knee flexes in the game. He might put a few goalies to shame, but he puts his ability to use blocking passes and shots. If the OHL kept stats on shot blocks, it would be hard to imagine Mete’s name anywhere but at the top and somehow he gets in the way of flying rubber without having it hit him in any sensitive areas.
That found an exception in January against the Saginaw Spirit when a slap shot deflected off a stick an caught him in the head just underneath his helmet. That cost the third-year defenceman 15 games.
Since returning, he has hit a new stride. Mete had 12 points in 14 games to close the regular season, but he is always so much more that just numbers you can measure. He is the quick first pass out of the zone and the catalyst on the power play and the reason pucks don’t get to where they are intended on the penalty kill.
Mete is a Memorial Cup Champion and most definitely on Hockey Canada’s radar for next year’s World Junior Hockey Championship, having attended two selection camps and winning gold at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
Every game that Mete plays has him looking more and more like an NHLer. Signing his first contract should serve as notice of a job well done for a player who is always doing the right thing.
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