NHL teams expected to stay away from prospect Mailloux after criminal charges

This is an interesting story. Frank Seravalli of Daily Face-off has revealed that one prospect could face an uncertain future at the upcoming draft later this month. Seravalli found out that multiple teams have placed prospect Logan Mailloux on their ‘Do Not Draft’ list, after he was charged in Sweden for taking and distributing an offensive photo without consent during a consensual sexual encounter last November.

It is believed across the league that Mailloux, a 6-foot-3 defenseman, is classified as first-round talent, but now it is being asked if any team will select the London Knights blue liner at all. 

Seravalli explains how back on Nov. 7 in Skelleftea, Sweden, where Mailloux was playing on loan with SK Lejon in Sweden’s third division while the Ontario Hockey League was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a then-17 year-old Mailloux secretly photographed the victim without her consent or knowledge while engaging in oral sex. The information comes from a 48-page investigation report from Sweden’s North Region Polisen in which it is described how Mailloux shared the photo in the SK Lejon team group chat on SnapChat during a bus ride to a road game. According to the investigation, the victim was not identified in the photo. However, Mailloux allegedly sent a screenshot of the victim’s online profile, which identified her to teammates by displaying her photo, first name and age. She was 18 years at the time of the incident. 

Word got out and Mailloux, who is now 18, was ultimately charged with both defamation and “Kränkande fotografering,” or offensive photography, and ordered to pay 14,300 Swedish krona, approximately $1,650 U.S. Dollars, by way of a criminal injunction that relieved the matter from the court system. Offensive photography became illegal in Sweden in 2013, banning secretly photographing or filming someone in a private place. The penalty is a fine or a maximum of up to two years in Sweden, per Seravalli. 

The offense was reported to police and the victim’s attorney filed a claim asking the Swedish prosecutor to order Mailloux to pay 7,000 Swedish krona (~$800 U.S. Dollars) for “offensive photography” and 30,000 Swedish krona (~$3,500 U.S. Dollars) for defamation. In Sweden, part of the fine for a crime such as this one is payable to the victim.

Mailloux continued playing during the investigation and showed remorse for his actions, saying he didn’t what he was thinking at the time, felt pressured by others and told the victim he sent the photo to his teammates as “a trophy”. 

“Personally, this is a huge mistake I’ve made. A stupid, childish mistake,” Mailloux said this week. “I was selfish. I want the victim and her family to know how sincerely sorry I am and how remorseful I am. I know now how it can affect their family. I regret doing it, but there is nothing I can do about that now. I hope they can forgive me one day.”

Mailloux’ actions were damaging to the victim, who said it damaged her reputation as gossip filtered out to others in town.

“What happened affected [me] much more than he thinks,” the victim expressed to investigators.

This is having an impact on Mailloux’s future in the NHL already. While he was interviewed by by 26 NHL teams in the lead up to the Draft and each one of them asked him about the incident, Seravalli reports that “the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs are believed to be among the teams with no plans to select Mailloux under any circumstance.”

We all remember what happened last fall when the Coyotes claimed Mitchell Miller in the fourth round. Arizona was heavily criticized for its pick and had to denounce Miller’s selection when it came to light shortly after the Draft that years prior to the draft, Miller kicked, punched and forced a mentally disabled Black classmate to eat a piece of candy that had been wiped inside a urinal. Miller reportedly never apologized to the victim, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, or his family.

There is also a lot of heat on the Blackhawks organization at the moment, with an unidentified player alleged in a lawsuit against the team, which states that a then-assistant coach sexually assaulted him in 2010. The team allegedly did nothing after he informed a since-retired employee what was happening. A separate suit alleged inaction by the Hawks, going on further stating that they made a positive recommendation that enabled coach Brad Aldrich to go on and sexually assault a Michigan high school student. Aldrich is now a registered sex offender after being convicted in 2013 of fourth-degree sexual assault in Michigan. The Blackhawks have since filed a motion to dismiss the pending suits.

Just a whole mess going on in Chicago… 

Seravalli added in his conclusion that NHL teams are expected to do their due diligence with some investigations still ongoing. 

“One NHL club said it was waiting for a response from their “risk assessment team” on whether it would even be permitted to draft Mailloux if the hockey operations department decided it wanted to select him on Draft Day. Another team said it would pick Mailloux “in the right spot.” A third team indicated the decision would be left in the hands of its president or owner. Some are still weighing whether they would select Mailloux at all.”