Mailloux hopes European trip helps draft stock

In a difficult year for all NHL Draft-eligible juniors, Logan Mailloux headed to Sweden to continue his development — and impress potential suitors.

Logan Mailloux, who played just four games for the Knights in 2019-2020, was set for an important OHL season in London this year. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

You’re eligible for this year’s NHL Draft, but there are no games to be played in Ontario. What do you do? If you’re Logan Mailloux, you head to Europe – at 17 years of age – to continue your development in a pro league, hoping to catch the eye of scouts and teams back in North America.

Mailloux, a second-round draft pick (33rd overall) by the London Knights in 2019, set off for Sweden back in November. Originally planning to go alone, he was joined by friend Matt Maggio (a Windsor Spitfire), and the pair, who lived together in Skellefteå, played for SK Lejon in Sweden’s third professional division.

“I wanted to get some games in for my draft year and showcase myself, because I want to climb some OHL rankings,” said Mailloux, who hails from Belle River, ON. “I was sitting around for eight or nine months [not playing games], and you can only do skill work and stuff for so long. There’s nothing like playing games.”

Mailloux played 19 of them in Europe, as the youngest player on his team. And the 6-foot-3, 205-pound defenseman fared well. In addition to strong play on the blueline, he scored seven goals and added eight assists for 15 points.

“It was good, I think I played pretty well,” said Mailloux, who has been back in London since mid-February. “I think I got some eyes on me. That’s big. I think I got a jump on some guys by playing games.”

That’s been the issue for major junior players across the country this season, but especially for those in the OHL, which remains the only league still sidelined due to COVID-19 (the QMJHL and WHL have both returned to action).

An original planned start date of December 1 was postponed by the OHL due to ongoing restrictions. After a province-wide shutdown was announced by the Ontario government just before Christmas, the league postponed things further, hoping to begin play February 4. That plan was also scrapped, and the province has still yet to sign off on a return to play for the league.

“I was actually only planning on being in Sweden for a month, but I ended up staying for three and a half,” said Mailloux. “And here we are in March and we’re still not playing.”

Despite the lack of OHL action, though, Mailloux’s time in Sweden certainly helped with his development – both on and off the ice. For a 17-year-old who hopes to one day play in the NHL, it was an invaluable experience.

“It was new, for sure. Living alone, cooking, cleaning. You gotta grow up pretty quick,” Mailloux said. “When I was living away from home in the past, you still have billets and stuff like that. So, it’s just different. There’s nobody babying you around all the time. It was definitely a learning experience, on and off the ice.”

The youngster continued his schooling while abroad, through London’s Blyth Academy, where all Knights players receive their secondary education. Though he wasn’t able to participate in some live Zoom sessions due to the time difference, he kept up with his virtual learning, and he expects to complete all his courses in time to graduate in the spring or summer.

Mailloux and Maggio returned to Canada before the new quarantine rules came into place requiring people returning to the country to stay in a hotel, at a cost of up to $2,000. Since returning, the 17-year-old has resumed his skills training at TPH (Total Package Hockey) in London and continued to be in touch with Mark Hunter (the Knights’ GM) “pretty much every day or every other day.”

“It’s better to be in London because Windsor is still in Red (COVID restrict level), so there are a lot more restrictions, whereas in London we’re in Orange,” Mailloux said. “There’s also some different options here. I just felt like I could train well (in London).”

There’s a very good chance Mailloux will be drafted in July. As one player evaluator put it, ‘He’s a big right-handed defenseman who can skate and really rip the puck. Scouts see considerable upside with him.’ Still, if he is drafted this year, it’ll be an impressive feat for someone who spent nearly all of 2019-2020 with the London Nationals of the GOJHL.

Mailloux played 48 games for the Junior B Nationals in 2019-20, recording 68 points and winning numerous accolades. (Photo: Don Rycroft).

Though he’d hoped to break camp with the Knights in the fall of 2019, the team was stacked with right-handed D-men (Ryan Merkley, Alec Regula, Hunter Skinner, Gerard Keane, Benjamin Roger, Bryce Montgomery). The team wanted him to get regular playing time.

“You look at the Knights’ defense last year. There wasn’t too much room to get in,” said Mailloux, who was just 16 at the time. “And they traded for some studs too. I wanted to play in the OHL, but I think it was the best thing that could have happened for me to go play Junior B. I was playing 25 or more minutes a night and I was playing in every situation.”

With the Nationals, Mailloux was nothing short of dominant. In 48 games, he tallied 18 goals and 50 assists for 68 points. He was named Western Conference Rookie of the Year and Most Outstanding Rookie Defenseman and was the top-scoring rookie in the conference. He was selected as a Western Conference First Team All-Star, was named to the Conference All-Rookie Team, and was chosen to participate in the GOJHL Future Stars Game.

And then COVID-19 hit. It shut down all sports, and neither the Knights nor the Nationals have played since.

“It takes a toll mentally on guys. It’s some of the biggest years of our lives,” said Mailloux. “It’s the not knowing. It’s pretty much been not knowing since the start of the season … well, what was supposed to be the start of the season.”

The good news is there may be some light at the end of the tunnel – though there are still some hurdles to overcome.

In a press briefing streamed online Wednesday (March 10), Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture, expressed some optimism about getting in an OHL season this year – even if it’s a short one.

“My team is feeling very confident that we’ve got the OHL to a place where they will be able to safely play, with contact, providing certain conditions,” MacLeod said in response to a question about whether there will be a season or not. “I’m optimistic that they’ll get games in.

“But we’re still in a public health crisis. As optimistic as I am, I still need the final sign-off by the Chief Medical Officer of Health [Dr. David Williams].”

It’s something. Maybe something significant. And if the Knights are able to play?

“It’s going to be a shortened season, so I’m going to have to bear down and showcase myself and my skills,” said Mailloux. “Team-wise, I don’t know what’s going to happen with playoffs, but nothing short of a Memorial Cup is what we want, so that would definitely be our goal.”

Until the puck drops – if the puck drops – Mailloux says he’s going to continue approaching things with the mindset he’s tried to maintain throughout the pandemic.

“Really, you just have to look at it with a glass half-full mentality,” he said. “It’s a bunch of unknowns, and it’s out of your control, so you just gotta try and keep a positive mindset and try and keep telling yourself that (returning to play) is going to happen, at some point, at some time, so just keep pushing yourself.”