Canadiens draft pick Logan Mailloux: ‘I deeply regret’ taking, sharing intimate photo of woman
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Defenseman Logan Mailloux, whose selection by the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night sparked controversy, said he regrets the incident that led him to be fined in Sweden and pull his name from consideration in the draft.
“During an intimate moment with a young woman, I took a picture of us without her consent,” he read in a statement before taking questions during a news conference on Saturday. “I sent it to my teammates to impress them. It was a totally irresponsible and stupid act that I committed without thinking twice. …
“I know I caused a lot of harm to this person and their family, and I regret doing this stupid and egotistical act. I deeply regret it. What I did is now unfortunately a part of both her life and mine. I’ve apologized to her, but nonetheless, this will follow her for the rest of her life, and for that, I deeply and sincerely regret it.”
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Three days before the draft, he asked general managers not to select him, saying he had not “demonstrated strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege.”
His original goal was to play in junior hockey for a season and try to earn back teams’ trust enough to be drafted in 2022. But Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin took him with the 31st overall pick in the first round on Friday. There was nothing preventing any team from drafting him.
“The player remained eligible for selection,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA TODAY Sports by email. “Montreal was free to do what it did.”
Bergevin said Friday that the Canadiens weren’t trying to downplay the severity of what Mailloux did and would try to provide him with “the tools to mature.”
The prospect said he wasn’t aware that the Canadiens were going to take him until they made the announcement.
Mailloux said he was receiving professional counseling “for multiple months” and stressed several times during his media availability that his apology was sincere.
“At this point, I just hope that she does know that I am sincere about this,” he said. “I am really sorry. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever done and I know that it impacted her life, and I just hope that she knows how remorseful I feel and that I do feel sorry about it.”
Mailloux said he will need to earn fans’ trust and is willing to speak in the community.
“I think if I can help people to not make the same mistake that I did, or something along those lines, then I definitely think that I’d be able to make a positive impact,” he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Canadiens draft pick Logan Mailloux: ‘I deeply regret’ taking, sharing intimate photo of woman