Logan Mailloux Officially Beats Allegations of Immaturity and Irresponsibility: Laval Rocket Head Coach JF Houle Makes a Major Statement on His Development as a Player and as a Person
As we often tell you, the young Logan Mailloux is having a superb first season in the pros, producing as much as Shane Wright and even earning a ticket to the AHL All-Star Game.
However, it hasn't always been easy and rosy for Mailloux. There has been a process, and kudos to him for managing to get back on track.
Mailloux described as immature and "always late" at the start of the season
It's always easier to talk about these things in the past and when the problem is resolved, but a big article has just come out about Mailloux.
An article by the excellent Nicolas Cloutier, from TVA Sports, paints a rather surprising portrait of the young Mailloux behind the scenes, a few months ago in Laval.
Here is an excerpt from the article, which says a lot.
On the ice, "he wasn't comfortable," says head coach Jean-François Houle. And it wasn't much better off the ice.
"At the beginning of the year, the maturity we see today wasn't there," Houle revealed to the media. [...]
Mailloux, probably used to dominating by relying on his talent in junior, was not behaving like a professional, and his teammates did not hesitate to point it out, sometimes in a passive-aggressive way.
"The guys took it out on him a couple of times," Houle confided. "I think it wakes you up as a player. They cut his laces at one point because he was always late. He got the lesson: 'Okay, I can't be late anymore.' Little things like that can be good for team spirit. It shows that a young player has to take his place and respect the rules."
- Article by Nicolas Cloutier, on TVA Sports
That was at the beginning of the season.
Houle then explains that this is in the past and that Mailloux is already much more mature. He has made giant strides, especially on the ice to improve his defensive game, but also off-ice to become a more professional and mature teammate.
And when you see this video, it says a lot about the young man's progress:
Details like simply arriving on time for practice can make a huge difference behind the scenes for a player.
A 20-year-old player who lacks maturity and is not yet a professional off the ice is far from serious and far from rare.
However, what is extremely revealing is how the young person in question reacts when confronted with his "shortcomings," and in the case of Mailloux, he really reacted in the best possible way, and it seems to be already in the past in his case.
We are proud of him! Go Logan!
We highly recommend reading the full report:
Mailloux, 20 years old, has accumulated 20 points, including 6 goals, in just 33 games this season in the AHL with the Laval Rocket. He has undeniable talent.
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