There’s no shortage of exaggerated mantra on this site as the presumptive power of the consensus works both in favour and, at times, against discussed players. Mailloux is an instructive lesson as to the deceptive powers of mob thinking. We have a 6’ 3” 210 lbs defenceman with a supposed mean streak ( whatever that means) and many here believe and repeat the mantra that we have an imposing physical defence arriving: a verifiable Chris Pronger. Nothing could be 'wronger' (pardon the unfortunate rhyme). Keep repeating that misconception and it eventually becomes the accepted consensus. This phenomenon also works in the negative. Reading some posts here, there’s a growing segment of posters who now believe and are willing to parrot the idea that Mailloux would have difficulty effectively playing defence in house league hockey. Ahh, the ever present consensus.
In my position as a manager of a large amateur sport organization I often have to deal with troubled, minor aged athletes who commit acts that constitute criminal offences. Some of these kids come from broken homes or have/face developmental/ social challenges. So I was intrigued why Montreal was prepared to accept the all to be expected social/ public reaction and fury in drafting this self- confessed offender in the first round. So I did what everyone should have done, I did my research and avoided the opinions of the ever present talking heads and the moralists. I had my staff search and locate every video they could find of Mailloux being interviewed and playing both in Canada and overseas during COVID. I quickly determined that Mailloux was not the typical kid that I usually deal with who has committed a disciplinary transgression or even a criminal act. The interviews I watched disclosed a young man who was highly articulate and was very intelligent. The videos of Mailloux playing also confirmed that we had drafted a player who had a number of intriguing skills and traits: size, above average skating, great shot and near élite offensive vision for a player of his age. It was then that I decided to follow this player as he transitioned from minor hockey to junior (OHL) hockey. I tried to watch every video of Mailloux playing for London and saw him play in person on several occasions when I was in a city at the same time the Knights were playing. My many posts on this thread are a reflection of my efforts to gain an accurate perspective of this young player’s development.
I will repeat my previous assessment, as nothing that I have seen has changed same: 1) Mailloux will never be an overly physical defenceman, it is not his game. 2) Mailloux is not an elite skater as he lacks quickness and first step acceleration. He possesses excellent straight forward speed once he gets going and has acceptable lateral skating ability. 3) Mailloux has to gain core strength and add at least 10 pounds of muscle mass to be an effective player in the NHL as he had problems physically controlling larger opposing forwards in the OHL; 4) Mailloux has to greatly improve his game conditioning to play in the pros, at any level. Being away from the game for almost two years adversely impacted his stamina levels. 5) Mailloux possess elite offensive skills and vision. He sees the ice extremely well in the offensive zone; has excellent hand skills; has a range of shots that are already top NHL level and has a first pass that is the best that I have seen in a Montreal prospect since Subban and Chelios before him. His first pass is hard, flat and has laser like precision. In London, few of Mailloux’s teammates could successfully receive those Mahommes like passes. That won’t be the case when he’s passing to Suzuki, Caufield, etc. As I previously commented, Mailloux already has a better first pass than all current Montreal defenceman. 6) Mailloux’s defensive game remains a work in progress. From the games that I watched, Mailloux doesn’t have a natural defensive inclination. It is the exact opposite to Reinbacher’s defensive approach. Mailloux is often caught in between either closing the gap on an opposing forward or angling the forward towards a less threatening area of the ice. Mailloux relies on stick checks way too much and often looks like he’s playing ball hockey in his stationary efforts to block opposing forwards' passes and shots instead of aggressively attacking the opponent. Its in his defensive game where you can really see the missing two years of development. How his defensive game develops over the next few years will determine if Montreal drafted a star defenceman or just another in a long line of one-dimensional defencemen.
I remain confident that Mailloux will play in the NHL , and play well, whether for Montreal or some other team if we are foolish enough to trade him.
Just my thoughts.
