Prospect Info: Logan Mailloux Part 3 The Only Hockey Talk Thread

[schwang26]

Success in the ahl does not mean success in the nhl. Everytime someone gets a couple points in Laval, there’s always people calling for them to be called up. It’s ridiculous especially considering where Montreal is in their rebuild. They cannot keep adding more youth to what’s already the second youngest roster in the league. This team is not at the point where they should be putting their prospects into this environment. It’s still a rebuild. Let the prospects have success in Laval first. Let them actually develop and round out their games.

 

[Hins77]

Barron is waiver eligible though, otherwise he'd maybe be sent down.



The difference is that Mailloux is still young and his defensive game has been progressing. No need to throw him in a bad situation just because he's better than Barron.

Monitor him during the season and make the decision whether he finishes the year in Montreal closer to the TDL.

The difference between NHL vs AHL is mainly the speed of each play. At one point, Mailloux need to adapt at NHL speed and live with his mistake. He won’t adapt his game, while playing in the minors. Right now, he is a midget AAA playing against bamtam BB. Or he is midget espoir and need to play midget AAA. .

 

[themilosh]

Trading Kovacevic was one of the rare poor moves from Hughes imo. Not a world beater by any stretch but there was a clear job for him this season and no rush to go the direction we took.

I have a feeling Kovasevic was cleared for one of Rainman or mailloux to be stepping up this year, with Barron as the wildcard..
RB goes down with injury
Mailloux almost ready (TDL)
Barron fizzled out
Savard cant cover for Hutson..

The trade was fine, it happens.

 

[EXPOS123]

I would tend to disagree with this assessment.

If you were watching Mailloux's play closely, his re-assignment to Laval was all but predictable.

I have watched this kid closely at all levels since his being drafted in 2021. Mailloux presents as a player who has a mixed bag of skills.

On the positive ledger, Mailloux has an NHL level shot, an excellent first pass and possesses high offensive vision. Negatively, when he first played in London, Mailloux was disastrously ineffective in the defensive zone. Some of you may remember that I thought he looked like he was playing ball hockey. He didn't close the gap on opposing forwards and, despite his size, he couldn't control opponents on the boards or in front of his net. I repeatedly warned that the accepted image of Mailloux being a big, physical defenseman was a total misrepresentation of what Mailloux's game and attributes were. I even suggested that a move to forward might be a viable option. I also found that he lacked stamina and, most worrisome, he lacked quickness and separation speed. I suggested that these deficiencies were perhaps the result of his extended absences from the game due to COVID, suspension and injury. I was hoping that, with additional playing time, Mailloux's skills would close the gap caused by his lost development time.

At Laval last year, and despite his statistical successes, I did not see the growth in Mailloux's skating that I had hoped for. Playing against superior opposition in the AHL, Mailloux was not able to transport the puck from the defensive zone, through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone on a consistent bases. That limitation was evident in his short stay in Montreal these past few weeks. While he can skate well without the puck ( as seen in his partial breakaway against Seattle) once Mailloux has the puck on his stick, it looks like he is pulling a canoe. When Mailloux is on the ice, the Canadiens are often pinned for long periods in their own zone.

Will Mailloux ever get that extra step is hard to say. But to write this kid off now would be a mistake born from impatience. The tools are there. There is no one on the Canadiens who has Mailloux's first pass. Not even Hutson. I have often said that the only certainty in hockey is the uncertainty of the rate/pace of a young player's development. Let him go back to Laval and play big minutes. Get stronger and faster. Let's assess Mailloux next training camp. If he again lacks the separation speed that caused him to be forechecked into irrelevance, then we have to consider that the window for this controversial draft choice maybe closing.

The reason for the demotion may be that both Guhle and Barron are ready to return. But I suspect that if an emergency rises and a call up is necessary, it will Engstrom that receives the call and not Mailloux.

Good post. Unfortunately people see only what they want to see.

I remember getting into heated arguments about whether JF Houle was a good coach and his defenders kept trying to convince me that Mailloux improved so much defensively by the end of the year under his watch and that he could easily make the team this year.

Having said that, he did miss an entire year of development so I’ll be a bit more patient in hoping he takes the necessary next step

 

[teamfirst]

The difference between NHL vs AHL is mainly the speed of each play. At one point, Mailloux need to adapt at NHL speed and live with his mistake. He won’t adapt his game, while playing in the minors. Right now, he is a midget AAA playing against bamtam BB. This is not what you want long term.

This, and i cant believe that we would keep a young deserving guy in the minor beceause of a dysfonctional environment with the big club.......if the coaching staff in Laval is better for the devloppment of our youth than the one in Montreal .........Laval and Montreal should switch their coaching staff, just saying

 

[themilosh]

Success in the ahl does not mean success in the nhl. Everytime someone gets a couple points in Laval, there’s always people calling for them to be called up. It’s ridiculous especially considering where Montreal is in their rebuild. They cannot keep adding more youth to what’s already the second youngest roster in the league. This team is not at the point where they should be putting their prospects into this environment. It’s still a rebuild. Let the prospects have success in Laval first. Let them actually develop and round out their games.

Agreed. I'd imagine Mailloux winning the scoring title would do wonders for his confidence. AHL is not chopped liver, that is impressive af so far.. keep going!

 

[CharleyHorse]

The difference between NHL vs AHL is mainly the speed of each play. At one point, Mailloux need to adapt at NHL speed and live with his mistake. He won’t adapt his game, while playing in the minors. Right now, he is a midget AAA playing against bamtam BB. This is not what you want long term.

I doubt playing in the AHL will hurt his development, in fact, the opposite. As whoever once said, no player was disadvantaged in the NHL by playing too long in the AHL. As of now, LM is just not good enough for the NHL; let him incubate longer in the AHL,

 

[Hins77]

Agreed. I'd imagine Mailloux winning the scoring title would do wonders for his confidence. AHL is not chopped liver, that is impressive af so far.. keep going!

We were ready to accept Slafkovsky flaw in the NHL at his beginning. We need to do the same for every prospect. At one point, when you exceed a league, you don’t deserve to stay there

 

[Treb]

But, is he worst than Barron, i guess it's harder to wave Barron, same thing with Joshua Roy why keep Heineimen over him, if it would be Bergevin doing that most here would say he wants to justified his transactions

Being worse than Barron is irrelevant unless the main goal is winning games. I believe the priority is what is better for Mailloux's development.

The difference between NHL vs AHL is mainly the speed of each play. At one point, Mailloux need to adapt at NHL speed and live with his mistake. He won’t adapt his game, while playing in the minors. Right now, he is a midget AAA playing against bamtam BB. Or he is midget espoir and need to play midget AAA. .

Yes, at one point he will have to adapt to the NHL speed. I just think we should make the gap smaller before it happens.

 

[HabzSauce]

The difference between NHL vs AHL is mainly the speed of each play. At one point, Mailloux need to adapt at NHL speed and live with his mistake. He won’t adapt his game, while playing in the minors. Right now, he is a midget AAA playing against bamtam BB. Or he is midget espoir and need to play midget AAA. .

I think it's also decision making which ties into what you're saying about the speed of play.

I remember a goalie wrote an article about the difference between AHL and NHL. It was Mike McKenna I think.

He said lots of players in AHL can skate and shoot just as good as NHLers, but in AHL - a player may only see 2 different options for a play, whereas an NHL player in that same position would see 4-5 different plays to make. And that was biggest difference he said - the NHLers just think the game at a better and faster level than your average AHLer

 

[The Last Red]

I’m not all worried about him long-term.

 

[Hins77]

I think it's also decision making which ties into what you're saying about the speed of play.

I remember a goalie wrote an article about the difference between AHL and NHL. It was Mike McKenna I think.

He said lots of players in AHL can skate and shoot just as good as NHLers, but in AHL - a player may only see 2 different options for a play, whereas an NHL player in that same position would see 4-5 different plays to make. And that was biggest difference he said - the NHLers just think the game at a better and faster level than your average AHLer

True. But I don’t think Mailloux is an Ahler. What he did at 20 and now at 21 years old for a Dman is a lot promising. Last year, Barron had 11 pts in 32 games in the AHL -4 and sometimes he is playing on Our first pair. Mailloux destroy the AHL and still play in the minors

 

[teamfirst]

Mailloux should be in the NHL way before Strubble, Barron and even Xhekaj

 

[Sam de Mtl]

We have seen enough of Barron to evaluate him as far as i'm concern

Edmonton thought that about Petry also.

 

[CharleyHorse]

9 pts in 4 games in laval. This is more than 2 pts/ per game
3 prs in 5 games in MTL.
He doesnt deserve to stay in Laval. Being him here, and we live with his weakness. I mean, we need to developp player this year.

Yes, but the problem is we don't live with his mistakes, we trash him for them. Read the GDTs. I say leave him in Laval - he's played 80 games in the ahl, and missed most of the season in the ohl before joining Laval. Let him play another season in Laval.

 

[Hins77]

Mailloux should be in the NHL way before Strubble, Barron and even Xhekaj

Agree. I mean, if the team was at the top of standing, I could understand why he stays in the minors. We are bottom feeder, we need to developp player. I don’t want to start next year and just hope Mailloux is ready. If he plays this year and adapt to the game, he will come back next year wich much more confidence

 

[Sam de Mtl]

Mailloux should be in the NHL way before Strubble, Barron and even Xhekaj

Hard disagree, especially in Struble's case.

Struble is so much more effective in his defensive game, I think he will beat the odds and keep being a staple on our Blueline even with all the talent coming in.

I expect our defense to one day be Hutson, Reinbacher, Mailloux, Guhle, Engstrom and Struble. Xhekaj could be in there also, but he may also very well play elsewhere

 

[teamfirst]

Edmonton thought that about Petry also.

Yup, and than there's the Nathan Beaulieu example

Hard disagree, especially in Struble's case.

Struble is so much more effective in his defensive game, I think he will beat the odds and keep being a staple on our Blueline even with all the talent coming in.

I expect our defense to one day be Hutson, Reinbacher, Mailloux, Guhle, Engstrom and Struble. Xhekaj could be in there also, but he may also very well play elsewhere

Fair enough, i don't disagree with you on Strubble he could become a very solid 3rd pair D but nobody will convince me that he should be in the NHL right now while Mailloux is in the minor.....but in any case i would wave Barron before sending Strubble in the minor

 

[Hins77]

Edmonton thought that about Petry also.

With this thinking, Trudeau, engstrom are also taking Petry path?
I mean, petry is an uncommun case rather than the norm

 

[themilosh]

We were ready to accept Slafkovsky flaw in the NHL at his beginning. We need to do the same for every prospect. At one point, when you exceed a league, you don’t deserve to stay there

But there isn't a LHD who is a stay at home cog.. its the opposite as hutson..

 

[ginomini]

People should look at the hockey DB pages of guys like Petry, Giordano, Devon Toews, Gustav Forsling, and many others before panicking about Barron and Mailloux.

Just be patient and stop calling for a recall/send down/trade every time they have a good or bad game.

 

[Sam de Mtl]

With this thinking, Trudeau, engstrom are also taking Petry path?
I mean, petry is an uncommun case rather than the norm

I'm not sure why you put Engstrom in there. He is a quality prospect, but hasn't shown what his professional path will be yet. Trudeau is also a different case as he didn't have the quick path to the NHL. If anything, I could see a Beauchemin path for Trudeau.

Of course Petry is an uncommon path (becoming an NHLer is an uncommon path in itself), but it is a path so closely mirrored to Barron's that it would take a fool to ignore it. I am not saying you keep him above others forever, but you at least give it as much time as you can before you need to call it a day. Mailloux putting up a few points in the AHL while still having defensive issues and being only a 2nd year pro is not the incentive for me to rush Barron out of town.

 

[HabsAddict]

I'm a huge fan of Mailman...HUGE!

But...

He's got balance issues when he's fighting one on one battles. It started when i noticed that he was on his butt twice in a 5 second span so for me. it became a noticible part of his game.

60% of his defensive issues are based on his skating. 40% on his lack of development to close the gaps.

BOTH are fixable and both need a bit of time and coaching. When...not if...he comes up, he needs to be paired with Guhle. It's going to be a long term marriage anyway so might as well start the process sooner then later.

Those two will be our top pair within a year and withing 5 years be the highest scoring defensive duo in the league. We are going to have an exceptional offensive defensman with an exceptional defensive defenseman..and both will overlap each others abilities to a large degree. Guhle offense will suprise and Mailmans defense will be top 4.

 

[JuicyHam]

Mailloux was genuinely not an exaggeration in his very short stint one of the worst defensive players I have ever seen. He was head and shoulders above the very bad defensive players that are still on the team. This is not a let him play through his mistakes type of thing. The eye test and the analytics both support this. I wouldn't care if he had 3 points a game in the AHL if you're a genuine liability every time you're on the ice against NHL competition without fail you need more work.

He's young and insanely high upside I don't want to see him flailing in the NHL when he can destroy AHL competition for another year while working on his deficiencies

 

[Monsieur Miz]

I liked him, he just skates like ass. Dude had trouble making a simple pivot. Like others have said, he's already better than Barron and Struble in my book. These two are blend as f*** and have no upside whatsoever.

He's better off playing 20+ minutes in the AHL on a winning team with structure though, that's for sure.