I watched the London's game last night against Oshawa Generals and here is my assessment of Logan Mailloux's play:
The Good: Mailloux was again paired with Isaiah George and has clearly become London's go to, number one defenceman who Hunter looks to and relies on to play in all high leveraged situations. Offensively he was one of the Knights most prominent players showing the skating, passing, shooting and offensive vision that has made him such a compelling prospect. Last night Mailloux showed his elite staright forward speed including once when he exploded up the ice to create a 2 on 1 opportunity on a penalty kill. He made numerous excellent break out passes and, in the offensive zone, completed a number of highly creative passes (think Suzuki-like) that created scoring chances and one goal on the power play. Mailloux was a bit more active in carrying the puck into the offensive zone , including one rush that led to a spectacular solo effort goal. (I won't describe the goal as the videos of same posted above speak for themselves.) Mailloux had much greater success in getting his shot through to the net, ending up with six shots on net. Mailloux had a very strong game on defence using his superior mobility, size, reach and anticipation to frustrate and block most Oshawa offensive efforts. While Mailloux didn't deliver any big hits, he used his size advantage prudently to mirror, track and smother opposing forwards. All in all, it was one of Mailloux's best games as he looked like a true leader on the ice and assumed a confident and commanding posture.
The Bad: Not really much was bad with Mailloux's game last night. I could nit pick and say that he made improvident pass in his zone that created a scoring chance against his team, that he showed a little lack of discipline that drew a penalty, or that he failed to convert on several scoring chances. But that would be truly, nitpicking. More importantly, I didn't see Mailloux get beat wide or make risky pinches that I have seen and commented on before. Also, he actually used the dump and chase play several times instead of his penchant of trying to beat three opponents ( and usually failing) at the offensive blueline. My biggest 'concern' continues to be Mailloux's conditioning. He still shows elements of fatigue that are a drag on his level of play at times. You just have to compare his consistency of play to his defense partner, George, who seems as fresh at the start of his shift as at the end. Is it a question of physiology, like what has plagued Gallagher all his career, or is the lingering effects of having missed almost two years of playing time? I certainly hope it's the latter.
The Ugly: Team Canada's management having to watch Mailloux play and knowing that he constitutes forbidden fruit for selection to the Team Canada upcoming evaluation camp. I was able to watch a part of Ottawa 67s' recent game and observed one of Team Canada's invitees on defence, Jack Matier. Not to be cruel, all I saw was a replica of a slightly slower version of Edmundson. Maybe it was a bad game, but if Matier makes the team, opposing skilled forwards will go around him, as Howie Meeker used to gleefully say: 'like a hoop in a barrel". Matier, who is largely a static defenceman, is nowhere near the level of player Mailloux is: well, at least at this stage of their respective development. Also, I know that many have questioned some of the Team Canada invite. The omission of Oshawa's, Brett Harrison, a Boston 3rd round pick in 2021, is to this observer, truly puzzling. Already 6'3" and 184 lbs, Harrison is a big, fast and skilled forward. He scored three goals last night and could have scored 5 with a little luck. As I said in my assessment after the previous London/Oshawa game, Harrison is a certain NHLer and a player that we will have to deal with for the next decade. If our own Team Canada invitee Roy, turns out to be as good as I think Harrison will be, all of us should, and will be, very happy.
How does one do that without lateral agility?
