Stu Cowan: Second chance begins for Canadian prospect Logan Mailloux

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The Canadians did Logan Mailloux, or his victim, no favors when they decided to select him in the first round (31st overall) of the 2021 NHL draft.

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Mailloux decided to forgo the draft that year, saying he had not earned or deserved the privilege of being selected after secretly photographing an 18-year-old woman in a sexual act with him when he was 17 and playing in Sweden in 2020. and then sharing the image and your identity with your teammates. Mailloux was accused of defamation and offensive photography in Sweden and was fined about $2,000.

All of former Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and owner/president Geoff Molson, who signed Mailloux’s pick, seemed to care at the time because he’s such a good hockey player.

“Just on the hockey side, we saw players that were drafted before him, we’re just talking about the hockey side right now, he was one step ahead of them,” Bergevin said after the draft.

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Incredibly, the canadians were not prepared for the reaction that would come from his decision.

Mailloux said he had not shown the maturity or character strong enough to deserve the draft and wanted time to quietly regain the confidence he had lost. Instead, the Canadians threw him and his victim into a very shiny spotlight without thinking it was a big deal.

Since then, the Canadiens and Mailloux have worked to regain lost confidence.

The past cannot be changed, and should not be forgotten, but it is time to move on and for both parties to try to turn a very negative situation into something that could be positive.

The Canadiens invested $1 million in a Respect and Consent Action Plan and Mailloux has been working to become a better person. The Canadiens didn’t invite Mailloux to their rookie camp or his training camp last season, and the OHL suspended him for his first 26 games with the London Knights.

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The Canadiens invited Mailloux to their development camp this week and he spoke to the media in Brossard on Tuesday and handled the situation very well for a 19-year-old.

“It’s been a lot of different things,” Mailloux said when asked about the process he’s been through over the last year since he was drafted. “Many meetings with therapists, professionals. I’ve done a lot of certifications, educational programs, training programs, things like that. So it’s definitely been a lot.”

Asked what he would have done differently after what happened in Sweden, Mailloux said: “I would have changed everything I’ve done… 100 per cent. I have definitely changed a lot as a person and as a human being in the last two years. I have learned a lot. Back then I had no education and now I feel like I do”.

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The Canadians also seem to have been polite and Bergevin is no longer the GM. The new management team, along with Molson, will decide what the future holds for Mailloux, but right now it looks like he’s in the Canadiens’ plans.

“The Montreal Canadiens feel like he’s done the job,” said Rob Ramage, director of player development. “He wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t.”

Things would have been easier for Mailloux if the Canadians had listened to his request. not to be redacted.

“Like I said before the draft, that’s how I felt like I didn’t deserve the right,” Mailloux said. “I feel like it’s a privilege, not a right, to be drafted and to be able to be a part of the Canadiens organization. I am incredibly honored and supported by the entire organization and staff of the Montreal Canadiens throughout this process and feel they have helped me so much. I definitely want to be able to be a Montreal Canadian in the future.”

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Mailloux has not spoken to his victim for the past two years, saying that was his wish and that of the court.

“I hope she understands that this is something I live with, I think about it every day,” he said. “It’s definitely something I’ll carry with me and she’ll carry it for the rest of her life. So I just hope that she understands and knows how honest I am about everything and how much I care about this whole situation.”

At this point, Mailloux deserves a second chance. What he did in Sweden will always be connected to his story, but it’s up to him to write new chapters so it doesn’t define him. When the time is right, he said he would like to help educate young people about what he has learned about sexual consent.

“I’ve been working a lot for the last year,” Mailloux said. “I want to be a Montreal Canadian. This is where I want to play in the future. It’s definitely been a long journey to get here.”

The second part of that journey begins now.

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