“Who wants to bet on that? »
Martin St-Louis almost seemed to challenge his audience, as he seemed convinced by what he was saying at a press briefing after training on Wednesday.
Gamble on what? On the possibility of seeing Logan Mailloux again in Montreal this season. The 20-year-old defenseman was cut from the Canadiens camp Tuesday afternoon.
In fact, it was during a response on a completely different subject that the head coach of the Habs got excited. There was a question of whether St-Louis was open to the possibility of left-handed defenders playing on the right, since it is rather thin on the right flank of the blue line.
“It takes more than 20 players to have a good season in the National League. Even Logan, who went down… Including Logan, these guys still here are going to be part of our success this year, in my opinion. Keeping them longer helps because we know we’ll need more than 20 guys. »
So Mailloux will be part of the Canadian’s successes in 2023-2024? If there is success, should we specify.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes up,” St-Louis continued. We will see. Is there anyone who would put a lot of money on Logan not playing a game in the National League this year? Who wants to bet on that? Not me, because injuries happen, and the kid showed that he is capable of playing. It takes more than 20 players, it takes depth, guys capable of taking a chair while waiting for us to get healthy. »
This answer leaves several elements to dissect.
First, “it happens”, a phrase popularized by Forrest Gump, and which applies very well to the Canadian of recent years. No need to go into detail; CH is the team whose players have missed the most matches over the last two seasons. All the misfortunes befell in this locker room, to the point where we wondered if a player was going to succeed poor Ali Maow Maalin as the last person affected by smallpox.
Due to these numerous injuries, CH employed 11 defenders last season. With the departure of Mailloux, there are 10 left in camp, including one, Chris Wideman, who has still not been seen on an ice rink since the resumption of activities.
Secondly, Mailloux has, according to his coach, “shown that he is capable of playing”. The big Ontarian spent exactly 60:03 on the ice in preparatory games, showing a record of -1. Very offensive, he was trapped by Jack Hughes in his very first game, and left Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to have fun shorthanded on Monday. It’s the job that comes in.
According to our friends at Natural Stat Trick, the Habs held a 7-3 advantage in scoring chances when the former first-round pick was on the ice at 5-on-5.
“He has a lot of natural skills that he can show every time he’s on the ice. It’s impressive to see a player like that control the puck like he does. His future is really good,” said defender Mike Matheson.
Why not keep it longer if it was so good? “We want Logan to play big minutes,” recalls St-Louis. To this end, the prospects will be better in Laval, since in Montreal, Matheson, David Savard and Kaiden Guhle all played more than 20 minutes per game last year. If they avoid injuries this season, it will be more difficult to provide meaningful minutes to the other guards.
In an interview with La Presse last week, the Canadiens’ executive vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, explained that St-Louis participates in most meetings when CH management announces to a player that he is cut.
“It’s important that you give the player reasons, the truth,” St-Louis justified. Communication is important for their progress, so I take it seriously. And as a player, I liked knowing why. It’s okay, you get cut, it’s not the end. It’s not a defeat, it’s a learning experience. But what is the plan for the young person? It’s a painful moment, emotionally. But it’s about talking about the positive.
“We had a good conversation, I was proud of him. Last year he was here for the entire camp. He didn’t play, but he had made big progress, just by training. This year I saw the same thing. No one can say he didn’t have a good camp, with all his strengths and his level of competition. »
If Mailloux wants to console himself, he can consult the statistics from last season in the NHL. According to Hockey-Reference data, only two defensemen 20 or younger spent the entire season there: Owen Power and Jake Sanderson. Two players of superior talent, by the way; the first was the very first pick in the 2021 draft, the other was the fifth player chosen in 2020. Another, Jamie Drysdale (6th pick in 2020) could have had that chance, but was injured after eight games .
All this to say that by age 20, defensemen are generally playing in the American League, if not the NCAA or Europe.
In the event of a problem, Mailloux could nevertheless receive a call. William Trudeau too. Another on whom the coach could bet his too afraid of making a mistake.