“The girl wanted to get back at me”: Logan Mailloux’s story as told by Éric Hoziel

When it comes to drafting a player, there are many aspects to consider. Among them: talent, needs, the projection of what the player can become, etc.

But there’s also the off-ice aspect. You know, the one we’re not allowed to talk about?

Whether a given player is a naughty person or a model citizen, it can make all the difference when it comes to ranking two different players for the draft.

The Logan Mailloux case is a case in point. We all remember his story in 2021, when he publicly asked not to be drafted that year.

Marc Bergevin had other plans in mind, however, and selected him 31st overall. We don’t know to what extent all this made him slip in the draft or not… but it surely had an impact on several teams.

Publicly, Mailloux said at the time that he had work to do on himself before he could be drafted. But this week, in the latest episode of the Processus podcast, Éric Hoziel shed a different light.

According to what the man who played Mac Templeton reported, in private with the teams, Mailloux didn’t exactly have the same speech. In fact, he was saying that “the girl wanted to get back at him” in that situation.

According to Hoziel, this is an aspect that may have put off some teams.

Let’s not forget that Marc Bergevin lost his job a few months after drafting the Ontarian, and that the new management was slow to sign the prospect. They did so in October 2022, after judging that the defenseman was progressing as a human being.

And that brings us to an important point: the importance of second chances.

It’s one thing to make mistakes as a teenager, and quite another not to learn from them in later years. There’s a big difference between the two.

Not all teams are prepared to give youngsters second chances. And this mentality will be fascinating in the case of Trevor Connelly, who also has a lot to make up for.

Connelly is a hyper-talented prospect for the next draft. However, he has a reputation as a terrible teammate and a young man with his values in the wrong place. The Athletic recentlyprofiled him.

In the past, the American confessed, again according to Eric Hoziel in the Processus podcast, to having posted a photo on Snapchat of a teammate who was surrounded by cubes placed in the shape of a swastika.

He is also accused of shouting racist insults at an opponent, but this has not been proven… nor have several other stories.

According to his family, he’s come to terms with all this (they won’t deny it)… but the question here is how a hopeful with “a past” and red flags should be judged by teams.

Remember, it only takes one club that wants him to draft him high enough. However, it’s clear that this pushes him down the list of several NHL organizations.

In bursts

– The playoff format is the talk of the town.

– Phillip Danault looks destroyed to be eliminated.

– Oh.

– Two points for Owen Beck yesterday. [RDS]

– Well done.

Little Léo loves hockey. And that love of hockey is helping him through a tough time.

The story of @JFChaumontLNH https://t.co/RCNUnsihZ7

– NHL (@NHL_EN) May 2, 2024