Marty likes him and he might just be here to stay. I am not saying he should stay but maybe management might think he should be learning at the NHL level moving forward.
Prospect Info: Logan Mailloux Part 3 The Only Hockey Talk Thread
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Worth giving him the season to prove he's worth something at this point, the tools are obvious but he's not just bad defensively, he's well below replacement level.
Deebs
Now I want to fly above the storm
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If we're able to con someone to take Savy, slide him in that 3rd pairing and give him the rest of the season. The back down for the playoffs with Laval if possible
HabzSauce
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- Jun 10, 2022
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1909
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At this point nothing important to lose . So play the youth and keep Beck and Mailloux...
Geez, it takes long to have Heineman back….
I think Mailloux has been good. He just dont gave the perfect partner to play with yet. Still a raw project at this point and we should give him a lot of NHL time since the end of the season.
ChesterNimitz
governed by the principle of calculated risk
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Maybe people are seeing something that I’m not. As a result of his skating limitations, we were always in trouble when Mailloux was on the ice as he doesn’t have the mobility, acceleration to avoid forecheckers. We were trapped in our zone for extended periods when Mailloux is playing.
Will he get faster? I have my serious doubts.
Victoire HuGo
Formerly le Barron de HF
DAChampion
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Asking from a position of inexperience:
Why is it so hard to improve skating?
Does Mailloux have fundamental limitations like a lack of cartilage or always skipping leg day?
ChesterNimitz
governed by the principle of calculated risk
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In my experience, some improvement is possible: a poor skater can become a less poor skater and a good skater can become a bit better skater. But except in the rare occasion, by the age of 20, what you see is largely what you get.
Suzuki is a good example of a player improving his skating after junior. Always, a skillful player, Suzuki lacked high end skating speed. That limitation was shown in the WJC, where Suzuki, facing elite talent, was largely ineffectual. His skating deficiency was why Vegas was willing to trade him away. Since coming to Montreal, Suzuki , while not an elite skater, was able to gain that extra step that made him a budding star in the NHL.
I have followed Mailloux's development/progression closely since he was drafted in 2021. To this writer, Mailloux lacks first step quickness and acceleration that would allow him to avoid forechecking pressure and to effectively transport the puck out of the defensive zone. It's a flaw that I don't see is fixable. All you had to do is watch him last night as the team was under pressure in the defensive zone and Mailloux (and others) were not able to cope and be effective against a heavy sustained forecheck. Mailloux is not an NHL level defenceman as he lacks the necessary skating ability. Just compare him to Luke Hughes who, with a couple of strides, was able to shed forechecking pressure and the puck was exiting the Devils zone.
With a back-end comprised of Savard, Xhekaj, Mailloux and, to a lesser degree, Hutson, we were caught slow against a speedy Devils team. And that overall lack of mobility will be fatal to any successful re-build unless this shortcoming is addressed.
Mailloux has excellent offensive talent. He sees the ice well, he has elite passing ability and a pro level shot. He's tall, has good reach and a nose for the net. Once he is in motion, Mailloux has NHL skating. Mailloux's future with the Canadiens is as a power forward, a conversion that should be easier to effect than most think based on his skill set.
Hins77
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Imo, a lot of poster here are giving up too quickly on Mailloux. He has some weakness on the dzone, but he still producing. 4 pts in 7 games Mtl. I'm sure with some experiences. He is going to be better and become an NHL defender. He is only 21
DAChampion
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For whatever it's worth I'm not "giving up". Just looking for realistic assessments.
If we go by what @ChesterNimitz , for Mailloux to be an effective d in the NHL he needs to significantly improve his first step, and that will be challenging but not impossible.
That seems reasonable?
Goalfield13
In Bilbo We Trust
- Aug 31, 2021
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Letting him play bottom pairing at the NHL level for the remainder of the season and coaching him on his defensive weaknesses is a good idea. Let him play PP2, as well. He won't be able improve his skating right now, but he can improve the speed of his decisions.
Especially with the amount of hockey he has missed. To be this good already tells me we should be very patient before writing this kid off.
If we go by ChesterNimitz, for Mailloux to be an effective D in the NHL, he would have to be someone else than Logan Mailloux!
The appraisal of Mailloux by Chester is so virulent, it is hard to consider objective, even if he has softened his take of late by suggesting Mailloux could become a good power forward, a transformation that likely will never take place.
If other professional appraisals of Mailloux were as damning as Chester's constant takes on the young D, suggesting he is already washed up and has no actual upside at D, it would lend more credibility to Chester's takes on the subject.
Right now, it just comes off as a poster really not liking a prospect, for whatever reason, and that poster just looking for ways to promote that negative bias.
But, maybe, in the end, Chester will be right and Mailloux will disappear into oblivion without leaving a smudge, even, in the annals of NHL hockey...
To his credit, Mailloux is aware that he needs to improve his defensive game to be relevant at the NHL level. He also doesn't seem to think he is above doing as much if he wants regular playing time at this level.
Playing 3rd pairing minutes alongside Xhekaj might be a good idea as Xhekaj is rather mobile for such a big fella.
It's important to note, as you have, that Mailloux has missed crucial development time and that, thankfully, he is still young and can still improve with the proper guidance.
ChesterNimitz
governed by the principle of calculated risk
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Some people here appear to be using my name in vain with respect to the enigmatic prospect that is Logan Mailloux.
I've been around this great game for many years and now use my accumulated knowledge professionally. To describe my views on Mailloux as 'virulent' or 'damning' is a mischaracterization of my assessment of this young player. I was strongly supportive of Mailloux when his selection in 2021 was scorned by many as a result of the mistakes he committed as a teenager. Perhaps my views were influenced by the many years I practiced as a criminal defence lawyer. I have watched most of his games, both while he played in London and in Laval, and was fulsome in describing Mailloux's great passing ability, even calling it the best in our organization and his elite offensive vision. But I have also been critical of his lack of acceleration with the puck and poor defensive acumen.
My concerns about Mailloux's skating is nothing new to this writer. Almost immediately after watching his first few games in London, I opined on this board that the prevailing view that Mailloux possessed elite skating ability was way off the mark. Nor is my suggestion that his future in the NHL was as a large, skilled forward, a recently adopted position. I've been calling for the transition (position-wise that is) for almost 3 years now.
The problem with Mailloux's skating was clearly evidenced in Mailloux's recent play against the Devils. If you can, watch the tape of the game and see how many times Mailloux was able to carry/transport the puck from beside his own net to his own blueline. Not through center ice or into the offensive zone, just his own blue line. Not many, if any times. This is one of the things I watch when I scout players for my organization and I watch the Canadiens. Can he (and others) get separation with the puck? People will quickly jump up and say it was only one game. That he lost years of development because of COVID, suspensions and injuries. Maybe or maybe not. The problem is that I have not been able to see Mailloux gain that all important separation factor with any ease in Laval ( that's why he was removed from their power play) and he certainly wasn't able to show that acceleration and gain separation in his limited play in Montreal. He was overmatched by the speed and tempo in the NHL and it came as no surprise, at least to this writer, that he was replaced by Struble when the team played the Lightening.
Now let's talk about my long standing suggestion that Mailloux be converted to a forward, something that this poster called a 'transformation that likely will never take place'. If one watched Mailloux's level of performance in the AHL All-Star game where he was relieved of his responsibilities to play defence, you would see this kid's potential to be a productive NHL forward. No doubt, it was just a 3 on 3 game of shinny where there was little intensity and Mailloux played against mostly career AHL players. But in that game's environment, where the play was fluid and Mailloux was able to receive the puck in motion, he was one of the more dangerous, dynamic players on the ice.
Unless Mailloux can gain that extra step of acceleration, the idea that this kid will evolve into a future, effective defenceman for this team is highly unlikely. And with him turning 22 in just two months, the window for that emergence is closing fast. But I think, right now, Mailloux would be a more effective forward than some of the players that we currently have who seem to be just going through the motions.
As I have said repeatedly, I would love to be proven wrong in this regard. It's happen before. My two previous failed marriages would attest to my fallibility.
Chester has been providing articulate and comprehensive reviews of Mailloux for years now. He has had many opportunities to watch Logan live in London. He is probably the most knowledgeable poster on this board when it comes to Mailloux and any time he speaks I listen. I have not always agreed with him (I'm usually proven wrong) but his arguments are always well thought out and difficult to disprove.
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