ChesterNimitz
governed by the principle of calculated risk
- Jul 4, 2002
- 5,844
- 12,693
Here is my short assessment of Mailloux's play in last nights game against the Peterborough Petes:
Overall: It was a mixed game for Mailloux. If his game against Ottawa was one one his better games, last night's game was one of his weaker performances where the deficiencies and poor tendencies in his game, both offensively and defensively, reared their ugly head. The biggest problem in this writer's opinion was the lack of snap or crispness to his play. Mailloux appeared sluggish and wasn't the dominant player that I have come to expect. The game against the Petes was the second of back to back games and, following the pattern I have previously noted, Mailloux's drop off in performance is noticeable in the second (or even more profoundly in the third) of consecutive games. It is the reason why ( performance-wise ) I wouldn't have selected him to Team Canada. While Mailloux has displayed the dynamic talent to play with and against the best players of his age group, he simply lacks the game conditioning to play effectively in a compacted, multi game environment. When one considers that this kid is only 19 years old and has, for reasons we all know about , been sitting on the sidelines for almost a third of his entire life, its not a surprising fact that Mailloux lacks the in-game conditioning that his opponents possess. Just remember the physiological challenges that many top NCCA players face when they transition to professional hockey's longer schedule. Mailloux's simply not there yet. It's coming, but his performance in last night's game ( and in other back to back situations) convince this writer that he still has way to go to be fully fit. The Russians have an old saying: fatigue makes cowards of us all.
On Offense: This was one of the rare game where Mailloux's game was decidedly inferior to his defensive one. While he showed flashes of his enormous offensive potential ( elite passing, straight line speed, anticipation, on ice vision and shot) it was, in this viewer's opinion, Mailoux's clumsiest game. Some of his passes were way off the mark, he forced or attempted plays that had a low probability of success and he made multiple mistakes at the blue line while playing on the power play. He was fighting the puck most of the night and fell awkwardly while pivoting that led to a Pete's shorthanded breakaway. His goalie bailed him out. While Mailloux took multiple shots at the net ( I counted 12 shot attempts), most of his shots were either blocked or. simply missed the net. He was credited with 3 shots on goal. Bottom line, Mailloux was simply not sharp.
On Defence: For a player of lesser pedigree, Mailloux's defensive play would have been considered adequate. He played a controlled game, made the correct reads, cleared the front of his goal crease, blocked shots, used an active stick to disrupt passing lanes and, most importantly committed few grievous mistakes. If you place any importance on this statistic (I don't), Mailloux finished with a team leading (tied) +3 for the game. He also played a more physical game and delivered a number of major hits on opposing players. On a negative note, he was again beaten once off the rush. While this may be nitpicking, for a player of his size, skating ability and overall talent, this should never happen playing against OHL level talent.
Bottom Line: Mailloux is still a great talent, who needs more time to develop in order to overcome his extended (and recent) years of inactivity and lack of playing time against top competition.
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