When he was chosen by the Montreal Canadiens earlier this summer, Logan Mailloux's entry into the National Hockey League came despite his requests for teams not to draft him. The 18-year old had been dealing with issues stemming from his personal conduct, the fallout of which has now made itself apparent.
On Thursday, the Ontario Hockey League announced that Logan Mailloux had been suspended indefinitely for a November 2020 incident concerning his personal conduct while on loan to SK Lejon in Sweden from the London Knights, which "violated the League's expectation of the appropriate conduct of an OHL player." Mailloux's suspension will last at least the remainder of the calendar year, and he will be eligible to apply for reinstatement starting January 1, 2022.
According to ESPN, Mailloux shared a photo via Snapchat with his teammates showing himself engaged in a sexual act with a woman. While the sexual act in question was consensual, Mailloux had taken the photo without the woman's consent. The woman went to local police, who subsequently fined Mailloux for offensive photography constituting an invasion of privacy and defamation.
The OHL is one of the three major junior hockey leagues, and Mailloux had been expected to return to the Knights for the 2021-22 season.
"It was totally irresponsible and a stupid act that I committed without thinking twice. I know I caused a lot of harm to this person and her family, and I regret doing this stupid and egotistical act. I deeply regret it," Mailloux said, per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. "What I did is now unfortunately a part of both of her life and mine. I've apologized to her, but nonetheless this will follow her for the rest of her life. For that, I deeply and sincerely regret it."
Despite the incident, the Canadiens nonetheless used a first-round pick (No. 31 overall) on Mailloux, stressing that the team would help put together an action plan for Mailloux "to guide him in his development."
