There wasn’t a whole lot riding on the Montreal Canadiens pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. After a magical 2020-21 season, that saw a mediocre 24-20-11 record in the regular season give way into a remarkable Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Montreal, in reality, had nothing to prove going into this off-season.
With little, if any off-season developments as of late from the Canadiens, aside from a few minor re-signings of Laval Rocket regulars like Alex Belzile and Xavier Ouellet, the NHL Entry Draft doubtless brought at least a bit of excitement along with it. While the 2021 class wasn’t as highly rated as those before it, it still had a number of talented prospects available, many of whom are likely to have bright futures ahead of them. Due to Montreal’s standing as runners-up in the Stanley Cup Final, Habs GM Marc Bergevin ended up with the 31st overall pick in the NHL Entry draft.
After the Vegas Golden Knights took Gatineau Olympiques center Zachary Dean 30th overall, Bergevin stepped up to the podium, with the Canadiens ultimately selecting… defenseman Logan Mailloux. Now, rather than go into any future potential/abilities related to this player, I’m going to politely greet the massive elephant in the room and address the off-ice background behind the player, cause woo boy.
For those of you not in the know, Mailloux had been at the forefront of the 2021 Draft’s lead-up, for some less than reputable reasons. A native of Belle River, Ontario and former second-round pick of the London Knights in the 2019 OHL Draft, Mailloux spent the 2019-20 split between the Knights and the London Nationals of the OJHL.
After being ranked around/on the outskirts of the top 32 by most NHL analysts, Mailloux personally asked NHL teams to not select him in the 2021 Draft, after an incident that transpired whilst on loan with Swedish team SK Lejon. As first reported by the Daily Faceoff, Mailloux (17 at the time) took, and subsequently shared photos with teammates, of an 18-year-old woman performing a quote on quote, “sexual act” upon him, without her consent. After distributing the photo to the team’s group chat on Snapchat during a road game bus ride, along with a screenshot of the woman’s online profile, he was subsequently confronted by the woman and charged and fined by Swedish prosecutors.
Ultimately, he was charged with both defamation and “offensive photography” and was ordered to pay 14,300 Swedish krona (approximately $1,650 U.S. Dollars). Photography of such a nature became illegal in Sweden in 2013, and the penalty is a fine or a maximum of up to two years in prison. After news of the incident got out in the lead-up to the 2021 Draft (with all 26 NHL teams who interviewed Mailloux asking him about the incident) the now 18-year-old released this statement (per ESPN).
"“Being drafted into the NHL is an honor and a privilege that no one takes lightly, the NHL draft should be one of the most exciting landmark moments in a player’s career, and given the circumstances, I don’t feel I have demonstrated strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege in the 2021 draft. I know it will take time for society to build back the trust I have lost, and that is why I think it is best that I renounce myself from the 2021 NHL draft and ask that no one select me this upcoming weekend.”"
Taken by the Montreal Canadiens with the 31st pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Logan Mailloux’s off-ice troubles have rendered his NHL potential moot.
It goes without saying that this was a difficult situation for the NHL to navigate and caused quite a bit of contingency in the lead-up to the draft. With a number of talented players having gone through and with many still on the board, Montreal ultimately opted for, Mailloux. Now, last year, I did a piece on the Canadiens’ last first-round pick, Prince Albert Raiders defenseman Kaiden Guhle, and almost immediately got into the nitty-gritty regarding Guhle’s potential and abilities as a reliable two-way defenseman.
As ready as I was to follow a similar structure this year, I simply can’t, as it would take away from the severity of a situation that I still have yet to fully process nor understand and silence the victim that was clearly mistreated in that same situation. What Mailloux was convicted of is no light offence, and it’s something that carries a lot of weight, especially in our modern world. With the Me-Too movement rallying for increased support for women’s rights and independence, with many coming forward in the wake of events like this which many had kept secret for years, if not decades, the Canadiens decision here is a baffling one, and one which will doubtless cause many, many issues down the line.
I am in no right to discuss situations like this in a manner which relates to Mailloux’s value as a prospect, and honestly, am not really sure how to lead into said value if I even can. Simply put, this situation involving Mailloux has totally and utterly taken away from any value he may or may not have at this moment and makes it an incredibly difficult thing to discuss without seeming insensitive or non-acknowledging of the obvious severity of this situation, both regarding Mailloux and the victim. While I can respect Mailloux for his decision to personally come forward and renounce himself from the draft, he still ultimately did what he did, and should suffer the consequences that come with it, even in a society continually defined by cancel culture (which I don’t necessarily agree with, might I add).
Yet, if the Canadiens’ pick is anything to go by, he didn’t, rather, he was taken in the exact range he was projected to go in prior to the aforementioned incident. With this, I feel as though any discussion related to Mailloux’s potential is, as stated, essentially moot, as this situation needs to be addressed and looked at further before even determining Mailloux’s future in the NHL, if he even has one. At 6’03 and 212 pounds, Mailloux produced well in 2019-20 in the OJHL, but it now remains to be seen whether he will even play come 2021-22, having yet to apologize to the victim (which according to certain reports is all she wanted). While Mailloux brings a lot of interesting offensive qualities to the table, has decent size and a solid, if unproven track record so far, having been embroiled in a situation like this, it essentially doesn’t matter.
I truly wanted to be able to take a deep dive into Montreal’s selection and note of its potential contributions to the Canadiens future alongside top prospects like Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, but, at least as of now, Mailloux just isn’t that. I can respect Bergevin for standing by his selection and pushing an angle of remorse for Mailloux, but as the NHL looked to have moved from similar controversies like that of Mitchell Miller, they find themselves faced with one once more, this time with the Canadiens at the forefront of it.
Can Mailloux redeem himself in the eyes of the NHL and the hockey world? There’s always a chance, though whether he ultimately gets one, remains to be seen. As much as I wanted to take a look at his abilities/potential as a defenseman, I, in good faith, can’t, and I sincerely hope others follow similar rhetoric. This just isn’t what the Canadiens needed out of the 2021 Draft, and it looks as though this is a situation, that is far from over, for both the NHL, Logan Mailloux, and the Montreal Canadiens.