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

[Rapala]

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.

I see a lot of Marty with his head in his hands in the not so distant future.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

TBF, he's not terrible ALL the time on defense, it's just that when he makes a mistake, it's a spectacularly dumb one. I don't think he's hopeless, he just has to find a way to cut that one part of his game way down.

 

[Rapala]

Mailloux would be more interesting if the habs didn’t already have a lot of offensive defenders, and a shortage of shutdown guys. I think this is intentional, as the value of defensive defensemen is often low. The habs could use Mailloux’s shot, but they don’t have the right partner for him, and I doubt his offense will balance the defensive lapses in the playoffs.

Mailloux may have been overconfident so far, and he could be much better if he puts in lot of effort in the off season. I doubt there is much hope for his decision making.

I actually think there is a ton of appreciation for Defensmen with a Capital D. Guhle is often touted as currently being our best defensemen. Reinbacher is meant to be our right handed version of Kaiden Guhle and the counter balance our Dcorps needs. For all his short comings David Savard also gets a lot of praise for his stationary defending. Most of the people I tend to read understand the value of Defensive defensemen.
There is no way to support a Lane Hutson without that balance.

 

[dcyhabs]

I actually think there is a ton of appreciation for Defensmen with a Capital D. Guhle is often touted as currently being our best defensemen. Reinbacher is meant to be our right handed version of Kaiden Guhle and the counter balance our Dcorps needs. For all his short comings David Savard also gets a lot of praise for his stationary defending. Most of the people I tend to read understand the value of Defensive defensemen.
There is no way to support a Lane Hutson without that balance.

I’m thinking more of GMs, but they may be coming around too.

It can be tough to predict how a new guy is going to fit with the system and players. The habs need some shutdown guys at F and at D. Mailloux won’t be that without massive changes.

 

[HabzSauce]

. 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.

Would be a dream to have him on RW. Would make our bottom 6 so much more dynamic.

Last time a D transitioned to F was Big Buff. I really hope Hugo is at least THINKING about trying Mailloux out as a forward

 

[26Mats]

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.

I have no problem seeing Mailloux as a forward. Byfuglien was good in that role in Chicago's cup win.