Canadian draft prospect Logan Mailloux faces uncertain future after criminal charges in Sweden
Logan Mailloux of Ontario was facing a bright future with the NHL draft coming on Friday, July 23rd. The 18-year-old was ranked as high as 23rd among North American skaters for the upcoming selections, but it appears many teams have now placed him on their "do not draft" list after word that he is faced criminal charges in Sweden.
According to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, Mailloux was charged with taking and sharing a graphic photo after a consensual sexual encounter. Mailloux was 17 when the offense is alleged to have occurred in Skelleftea, Sweden in early November of last year. He was on loan from the London Knights to a team playing in the Hockeyettan due to the shutdown of the OHL at the time. The girl involved in the encounter was 18. Mailloux gave Daily Faceoff permission to publish details of the case, which is required as he was a minor when the charges were laid. Mailloux allegedly photographed the girl while involved in the act of oral sex. The next morning, he showed the photo to his teammates, although he says the girl was unidentifiable. However, a police report states that when Mailloux shared the photo of the encounter with teammates through a Snapchat group, he also shared a screenshot of the girl's profile, which showed her name, age and other personal details.
"Personally, this is a huge mistake I've made. A stupid, childish mistake," Mailloux told Daily Faceoff. "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 told Daily Faceoff that he was interviewed by 26 NHL teams leading up to the draft, and every one of them asked about the incident. While his name was never published in Sweden due to the fact he was a minor, the story was covered by local media and was apparently widely known about in hockey circles.
"We're trying to put a team on the ice people can be proud of and support,» one NHL team front office member told Daily Faceoff when asked about Mailloux. "We'll build a less efficient roster, if need be, to make sure that is the case in our community."
As for the victim, she told police the incident was damaging for her because she was no longer anonymous. She added even if the photo was deleted, it would not stay "within the team".
"What happened affected [me] much more than he thinks," the victim expressed to investigators.
Daily Faceoff reached out to the London Knights, who told the publication that Mailloux will be welcomed back to the team regardless of what happens in the draft.
"The London Knights became aware of a situation involving Logan Mailloux that occurred when he was loaned from the team and playing in Sweden during the pandemic," the Knights said Friday in a statement. "It is our understanding that the situation has been resolved in Sweden and the player has apologized. Team staff are working with Logan, ensuring that he is accessing the supports that are in place to help him better understand his actions, the ramifications of his actions and ensuring that this does not happen again. The team and the [Ontario Hockey] League will continue to closely monitor the situation."
Mailloux is a 6-foot-3 defenceman who was projected to go anywhere from 42rd to 58th in the upcoming draft. Whether that happens now remains to be seen.
