The Montreal Canadiens made a controversial decision to draft Logan Mailloux in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft after he asked not to be drafted at all.
While Mailloux was held accountable for his actions in the courts of Sweden, he will have to deal with the court of public opinion for much longer.
The controversy also meant most hockey fans knew more about what Mailloux did off the ice than what he could do on the ice.
The 18 year old right shooting defenceman played last season in a third tier pro league in Sweden because the Ontario Hockey League did not operate in 2020-21 sue to the pandemic. The previous season, when Mailloux was 16, he was sent down to the Ontario Junior A league instead of being a depth piece on a deep Knights squad.
So, he had played in an unknown Swedish league and tier II Junior in Ontario in the past two seasons. Then, he was suspended indefinitely by the OHL to begin this season, before being reinstated on January 1st.
After a couple of games were postponed, the 6’3″ and 208 pound defender finally made his season debut on January 7th and put up two assists, a plus 4 rating and had five shots on goal. His second game of the season saw him score twice, fire eight shots on goals and he was a plus 3.
Last night, he played his third game of the season and though the Knights lost 4-2, Mailloux scored once again, and had seven more shots on net. His third period goal gave the team some late life as they tried to mount a comeback.
Mailloux hammered a one-timer just after a faceoff win in the offensive zone. He has shown he has a booming shot from the point in his three games with the Knights this season.
Mailloux is up to three goals and five points in just three games in the OHL this season. He is proving to be one of the best prospects in the Montreal Canadiens system.