Logan Mailloux was the best London defender since John Carlson, according to Mark Hunter

At the moment, the Habs have some high-quality prospects (or young players) on the blue line.

In my opinion, four players stand out among the youngsters. They are, in no particular order, Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher.

If everyone develops like the world (which isn’t guaranteed), there’s a world in which these four guys are in the Habs’ starting line-up in October 2024.

There’s even a world where all four played at least one game with the Habs in April 2024…

Add to that Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, Adam Engstrom, Johnathan Kovacevic, Mattias Norlinder, Jayden Struble and William Trudeau, guys who will be fighting for a place in the sun.

And I haven’t even mentioned Mike Matheson, a veteran who deserves to stay in town for the long haul.

Anyway. All this to say that the CH will have a nice bank of defensemen to draw from over the next few years. But of the lot, Logan Mailloux is surely the one attracting the most attention.

After all, he’s often compared to some excellent defensemen. Grant McCagg, who sees him in his soup, thinks he looks like Larry Robinson on the ice.

Grant McCagg: Mailloux reminds me of Larry Robinson@grantmccagg joins @TonyMarinaro to discuss the #Habs next big 3.

Full pod👇
Watch: https://t.co/KuNSoYlXpn
Listen: https://t.co/GaAm7pmDyC#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast pic.twitter.com/Nqavf1tB88

– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) July 27, 2023

And he’s not the only one to hold her in high regard.

For several minutes during a recent episode of The Sick Podcast, McCagg recalled that in London, Mark Hunter considers Logan Mailloux his best defenseman since John Carlson. Still, eh?

The fact that he’s been able to play big minutes in London (averaging 33 minutes in the last few playoff games) and be his team’s go-to guy must speak volumes.

Does he need to work on his defensive game? Yes, of course he does. But he had confidence in junior.

That doesn’t mean it’s going to translate to the AHL or the NHL, as we all agree. On the other hand, he couldn’t have done better in the OHL in his last junior year.

He did what he had to do.

But still, some people don’t seem to believe his potential is that great – despite the fact thathe could be the second-best defenseman of his crop, according to some people in the business.

Mailloux will always have detractors.

I imagine the NHL’s PR people are hard at work right now. Communicating permission to reinstate Mailloux and announcing sanctions related to Team Canada jr and their sexual misconduct. Strange timing.

– Matt🧢 (@Math_Belair) August 3, 2023

Is it because of what he did during the pandemic, which forced him to ask NHL teams not to draft him? You’d think so, that’s part of the equation.

Mailloux, who undoubtedly met with the NHL last month, will have to find a way to put this story behind him so that it doesn’t follow. That’s probably going to involve an exemplary attitude and some good field hockey on the ice.

In short

– It’s easy to ask and answer obvious questions.

– Jonathan Marchessault was told he was the playoff MVP by his son. [JdeM]

– Mikhail Sergachev, member of the notorious club of misfits.

– A new Les Boys movie in the works. [98.5 FM]

– Things are bad in New York.