NHL Draft prospect Logan Mailloux renounces himself from 2021 Draft

By Frank Seravalli
DailyFaceoff.com

Prospect Logan Mailloux preemptively pulled his name from consideration for the 2021 NHL Draft on Tuesday morning when he asked all 32 teams to not select him this weekend.

The nearly unprecedented development came four days after Mailloux revealed in a report on Daily Faceoff that he was charged in Sweden last November with taking and distributing an offensive photo without consent following a consensual sexual encounter.

Neither Mailloux nor his representatives were available for immediate comment.

Mailloux, 18, was a minor when he committed the offense in Sweden while playing for SK Lejon in Sweden’s third division with Ontario Hockey League play halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He cooperated with the investigation, paid a fine of 14,300 Swedish krona ($1,650 U.S. Dollars), apologized multiple times to the victim and finished his stay with SK Lejon as scheduled. But Mailloux’s incident was no secret in the hockey world; he was interviewed and asked about it by 26 of the 32 teams.

With full knowledge of the situation, multiple teams told Daily Faceoff last week they were still contemplating whether to draft Mailloux, who was seen as a 6-foot-3 defenseman with first-round potential. One team had him ranked inside their Top 15 on their draft board. Multiple others, perhaps as many as a third of the league – including the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs at a minimum – had placed Mailloux on their ‘Do Not Draft’ list and planned to not select him this weekend under any circumstances.

Last fall, the Arizona Coyotes renounced their fourth-round selection of Mitchell Miller when it came to light shortly after the Draft that years earlier, Miller heinously kicked, punched and forced a mentally disabled Black classmate to eat a piece of candy that had been wiped inside a urinal.

But few players, if any, in NHL history have ever preemptively pulled themselves from consideration entirely. In 1984, prospect Craig Redmond reportedly sent letters to select teams notifying them he would not play for them. The Los Angeles Kings drafted Redmond sixth overall that year. In 1975, there were questions about prospect Robin Sadler’s commitment to play, but that did not deter the Montreal Canadiens from taking him ninth overall. Sadler never played in the NHL, instead choosing after one exhibition appearance to return the signing bonus from his $250,000 contract to work for a delivery company.

In previous iterations, the NHL Draft required players to opt-in for selection. Longtime Detroit Red Wings stalwart Niklas Kronwall chose not to opt-in for the 1999 NHL Draft, instead waiting for 2000, when he was selected in the first round at 29th overall.

Since Mailloux appears on the list of eligible players, the belief is there would be no league rule in place to prevent a team from selecting Mailloux in a late round on Saturday afternoon – however unlikely that development might be given his public request. If undrafted, Mailloux would remain eligible to be selected next year in the 2022 NHL Draft.