The Montreal Canadiens drafted Logan Mailloux with their first-round draft pick, to my horror.
His skill is irrelevant. His intriguing profile is irrelevant. This teenager forfeited the right to be drafted with his actions earlier this season in Sweden. Beyond simply forfeiting the privilege that is an NHL Entry Draft selection, Mailloux quite literally asked not to be drafted this season due to the optics. And yet the Habs, the team I’ve loved all my life, made an extremely disillusioning decision.
For those of you who may not be aware, Logan Mailloux was convicted of defamation and offensive photography this year, for having non consensually filmed a young woman performing oral sex on him and showing the video to his teammates. The victim was understandably distraught, as a result, and filed a criminal injunction.
Understanding consent is not a question of maturity. It is one of human decency and respect for the well-being of your partner. The victim has, apparently, received no apology from Mailloux more significant than a three-sentence-long text message. Someone who does what Mailloux did and doesn’t even leave a voice message or even a lengthy text as an apology has clearly not accepted the severity of their mistake.
Many things are bigger than hockey and this is one of them. By drafting Mailloux, and in the first round no less, the Canadiens have shown the world that they do not see a real issue with Mailloux’s actions. Now, some may claim that he’s just a kid, that it’s boys being boys, that he shouldn’t be cancelled for a mistake others have made, etc, etc, etc. If his actions have become normalized, then that’s a societal issue we need to address. The amount of people that have done similar things does not diminish the severity of his actions.
People must be held accountable for their actions, no matter their status as an athlete. Granted, Mailloux did pay his fines and face the media backlash, but being drafted in the NHL is a privilege that is earned. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve a second chance in life due to this mistake, I am saying that he forfeited the privilege of likely becoming a millionaire by the age of 22 and that he did not earn what the Canadiens gave him… not even close.
There were rumours at the trade deadline that the Habs were very interested in acquiring known racist Tony DeAngelo, who was bought out on Friday. That was disillusioning to me, but I rationalized it by convincing myself that it was just a rumour. Seeing the absolute ignorance of the organization’s oft-repeated value in the character of players these past months has honestly been heart-breaking. Marc Bergevin’s likely knowledge of the horrific rape case in the Blackhawk’s organization in 2010 and the subsequent letter of recommendation the offending coach received to coach high school hockey compounds that.
I’ve loved this team, but the way this draft selection has made concrete worries I’ve had of the front-office staff is making me question that love, at the very least for as long as Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins and Scott Mellanby (the three men that must have pushed for and approved the selection) remain with the organization.
I’d been looking forward to draft day for months. I had my fingers crossed the Habs would pick Logan Stankoven, Aatu Raty or Francesco Pinelli in the minutes leading up to the selection. But the fact the team didn’t draft one of the players I loved is utterly irrelevant. By making the selection they did, they are condoning the abusive culture that has long pervaded hockey, and that’s about as disillusioning of a thing a team can do.