Canadiens: First Rounder Logan Mailloux Suspended Indefinitely by OHL

Just as the Montreal Canadiens thought they had finally managed to die down the controversy around this situation, yet more fuel has been fed to the proverbial fire that is 2021 first-rounder Logan Mailloux. After weeks of harsh criticism from fans and analysts alike (myself included to severe backlash) Mailloux has now been suspended indefinitely by the OHL, bringing his development to a screeching halt.

The background surrounding Mailloux is something that needs no introduction, but regardless I’ll go into things a little bit further. A product of Belle River, Ontario, Mailloux was a talented defenseman coming out of the GOJHL’s London Nationals and had just made his Major Junior debut with the OHL’s London Knights. However, with both the WHL and OHL’s 2020-21 seasons cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, Mailloux was loaned to SK Lejon of the Swedish Third Division.

Whilst on the road with the team, Mailloux (as first reported by the Daily Faceoff) whom was 17 at the time, took, and subsequently shared photos with teammates, of an 18-year-old woman performing “sexual acts” upon him, without her consent. After distributing the photo to the team’s group chat on Snapchat, he was subsequently confronted by the women, and charged 14,300 Swedish Krona (approximately $1,650 USD) by prosecutors.

2021 Canadiens first round pick, Logan Mailloux, has now hit a huge roadblock in his development after being suspended indefinitely by the OHL.

Following this, Mailloux released a statement voluntarily withdrawing himself from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, asking teams to not select him, despite being interviewed by a reported 26 NHL teams, all of whom asked him about the aforementioned situation. In spite of this, however, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin still opted to select Mailloux 31st overall, which opened the endless floodgates of countless opinions, none of which were seen as definitively right or wrong.

Now, this continually sharpened double-edged sword has reached an apex of sorts, with the OHL taking matters into their own hands regarding Mailloux’s future. Needless to say, this puts a massive roadblock in Mailloux’s path to redemption, regardless of whether you see him as deserving of one or not. Either way, the Canadiens will now have to likely find a new home for their new and shiny first-round pick, one who’s polish has definitely worn off a bit if it hadn’t entirely already.

With the NHL’s prior situation with Arizona Coyotes pick Mitchell Miller having reappeared after Miller signed in the USHL, Mailloux’s suspension marks yet another draft-related controversy that the NHL had managed to avoid for the longest time. In a society where cancel culture is becoming continually prevalent, Mailloux is an instance where the subject is equally as deserving of the backlash and criticism as he similarly isn’t, at least as according to those commenting on the situation.

In my previous post on Mailloux, I offered a opinion which was, in many ways, influenced by said cancel culture, but regardless, what’s had to be said has been said, so on and so forth. With the 18-year-old defenseman now likely to miss an entire year of his development (unless he be loaned to play elsewhere) It remains to be seen what the future holds for the Canadiens latest first round pick in Logan, Mailloux.