When the 31st pick came along at the 2021 NHL Draft, nobody, especially Logan Mailloux thought that his name was going to be called.
Marc Bergevin made the bold decision to draft Mailloux, which was his final first-round pick as general manager for the Habs. Mailloux went through all kinds of testing and penalties for his decisions and proved to Commissioner Gary Bettman that he was apologetic and learned from his mistake. The decision and process weren't taken lightly and for that reason, Mailloux had to show a high level of maturity and remorse.
He did just that, and with Mailloux cleared to play, he made his American Hockey League debut with the Rocket. There was obvious knowledge amongst scouts that Mailloux had the package of skill, skating and physical presence to project as a very good defence prospect. The transition to professional hockey isn't an easy one, but Mailloux made the jump and looked like a legitimate top-pair defender at the AHL level in his rookie season.
Mailloux scored 47 points in 72 regular season games, looking like a shooting threat each night and showing that he could become a power-play piece for the Canadiens in the future. His size and mobility in junior made him a dominant presence, which doesn't always mean it will work the same way in the pros. For Mailloux, though, he did translate well to Laval and he may be close to ready to make a push for the Canadiens roster for the 2024-25 season.
I wouldn't be all that surprised if he did play another full season on a well-stocked blueline with the Rocket come October. This would allow him to play a top role and grow his all-around game against the opposition's top players. With the defensive logjam in Montreal still likely to be a problem, Kent Hughes will need some time to decide who stays and goes, so watching the future develop in Laval will be helpful.
This time next year, the top four on my list will likely all be on their way to becoming graduates from the AHL. I expect that the order would likely remain the same if not, however, since the top three are all players that are very close to ready for Montreal, with two essentially locks to make the team for the upcoming season.