Logan Mailloux made a big announcement impacting his professional career of withdrawing his name from NHL Draft consideration for the year 2021 draft, which was set to start on July 23 via Twitter just a few days prior to the beginning of the draft.
The statement was released after he was criminally convicted in Sweden in December last year for sharing a woman performing a sex act without her consent and circulating it among some teammates via social media, Snapchat while playing in a professional Swedish hockey team, SK Lejon.
He was issued a summary fine for offensive photography constituting an invasion of privacy and defamation. However, the case didn’t get more serious because Logan was still a minor at the time.
Mailloux said in the statement:
“The NHL Draft should be one of the most exciting landmark moments in a player’s career, and given the circumstances I don’t feel I habe shown strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege in the 2021 Draft.” He wrote, “If I were to ever have the honor of being selected, I would want a fanbase to be proud to welcome me to their organization. I know it will take time for society to build back the trust that I have lost.”
He was ready to throw away a great chance for his career and be prepared for his 2022 draft, as he further continued his statement saying:
“I feel that this would allow me the opportunity to demonstrate an adequate level of maturity and character next Season with the London Knights in the OHL, and provide all the NHL Teams the opportunity to reassess my character towards the 2022 NHL Draft.”
He did a terrible thing being a major part of the scandal video. Moreover, he was yet to properly apologize to the woman [the victim] as per the woman’s interview despite renouncing himself from the 2021 NHL Draft.
— Logan Mailloux (@loganmailloux_) July 20, 2021
The woman said to The Athlete Mailloux offered a text message apology. Still, it did not contain any receive a proper apology as she went on to say that he doesn’t understand the seriousness of the matter. She further said that Logan “says that I want to ruin his career. I have never said that. All I have wanted is to get justice for the actions he has taken against me.”
After releasing his statement, The Athletic reported that at least 11 NHL teams had removed Mailloux from their draft boards because of the conviction prior to his request. But, theoretically, he was still eligible for being drafted by a team. Despite that, the Montreal Canadiens still selected him with the 31st overall pick in the first round.
This caught the attention of many as they went on to take the situation on Twitter. Steve “Dangle” Gylnn tweeted, “Did… didn’t he just tell everyone not to draft him?” while Dan Rosen wrote: “So Montreal picks Logan Mailloux at No. 21. He publicly renounced himself from the 2021 NHL Draft, asking that no team select him.”
The big personality expressed their quite shocking reactions and their discontent regarding the situation on Twitter on the topic.
After drafting Logan on the first round of the NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens released a statement about their decision via their official website, which was later shared on their Twitter account.
(Note: You can find the details about the statement here: Montreal Canadiens Picked Logan Mailloux In NHL Draft Disregarding His Sexual Controversies)