Logan Mailloux must have his chance in Montreal by the end of the season

The naughty teams’ dilemma is playing out in Montreal: is it better to bring the good kids to the NHL to give them a taste of the NHL, or is it better to let them grow in the AHL to make a playoff run ?

For the Canadiens, the question is being asked with Joshua Roy and Jayden Struble. Right now, both young players are in Montreal, but we know they’ll finish the season with the Laval Rocket.

We just don’t know when.

But the reverse is also true. Will a youngster like Logan Mailloux, arguably the best player on the Laval Rocket right now, get his chance to move up?

On paper, the Canadiens can do it. There’s no 23-player limit on the active roster after the trade deadline, and the Habs have two call-ups left between now and the end of the season.

Since potential injury-related recalls don’t count, the Habs can decide to test two players. And I’d be surprised if the club didn’t want to know what’s going on with Mailloux.

We’d have to know when the test would be done, how long it would last and whether the Ontarian would be paired with Arber Xhekaj (as in Laval), but you’d have to think the Habs would want to test their defenseman… who deserves it.

After all, it’s clear that his play in Laval is getting a lot of attention.

Simon Servant, Anthony Marcotte and Mathieu Boulay all agree that Mailloux’s development in Laval is interesting, as he plays very well. Renaud Lavoie sounded the same note this morning, talking about the defenseman on BPM Sports’ Le Club du Matin.

Keeping an eye on the new blood is bound to be one of the Canadiens’ challenges between now and the end of the season. After all, every game is a test for the upcoming training camp.

As Arpon Basu of The Athletic notes, if nothing changes, there’ll be plenty of people at Mass for the next training camp. We can also add William Trudeau’s name to the race.

• Mike Matheson
• David Savard
• Kaiden Guhle
• Arber Xhekaj
• Jayden Struble
• Jordan Harris
• Johnathan Kovacevic
• Justin Barron
• Logan Mailloux
• David Reinbacher
• Lane Hutson
• Adam Engstrom

Of course, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are expected to evaluate the possibility of trading several defensemen during the off-season, but even so: it’s going to be a hard-fought battle for (very) few positions.

Knowing what Mailloux has up his sleeve at the end of the season would not only help him at the next camp, but would also help the Habs make an informed decision for the 2024-2025 season.

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