NHL clears controversial Canadiens prospect to play
Nearly two years after being taken 31st overall despite his plea to NHL teams not to draft him, it appears there are no more obstacles standing in the way of Montreal Canadiens prospect Logan Mailloux making his NHL debut.
According to a report from Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the NHL has cleared the 20-year-old defenseman to join the Canadiens should he make the team’s active roster out of training camp. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canadiens last October.
Montreal’s selection of Mailloux made headlines after he was criminally convicted three years ago in Sweden for sharing a photo with his teammates of a woman performing a sexual act with him without her consent. He was charged with defamation and offensive photography and fined approximately $1,650.
Although players themselves can’t withdraw from the draft pool, Mailloux withdrew himself from draft consideration, telling teams not to pick him.
“The NHL Draft should be one of the most exciting landmark moments of a player’s career, and given the circumstances, I don’t feel I have demonstrated strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege in the 2021 Draft,” Mailloux said in a statement.
The Ontario native was suspended by the OHL from September 2021 to January 2022 following the news. In July 2022, the Canadiens made a $1 million investment in a Respect and Consent program, which Mailloux attended.
The program is designed to raise awareness “on the concept of consent, respect for others and the serious consequences of sexual cyberviolence.”
"Respect, consent, the whole program they have going on here is unbelievable," Mailloux said at development camp last year. "I think every NHL team should have to do it, every junior team should have to do it, I think it should start in minor hockey as well. … I would have changed everything that I've done, 100 percent. I've definitely changed a lot as a person and as a human the past two years. I wasn't educated back then, I feel like I am now."
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