Canadiens take player 31st who asked not to be drafted
SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) - The Montreal Canadiens stunned the rest of the NHL on Friday night by taking Logan Mailloux with the second-to-last pick in the first round of the draft.
Mailloux, who was criminally convicted in Sweden last year for sharing an explicit photo of a woman performing a sex act without her consent, asked teams not to select him. A player cannot remove himself from the draft.
'œWe will work closely with him and give him the support he needs," general manager Marc Bergevin said. "I know he's been remorseful about the incident, which we truly don't agree with it in all sense of the world, but he's a young man who made a serious mistake of judgment and we really have to work with him. We did talk to him, and he's fully aware of that and he's very remorseful, so that is a big step.'ť
Mailloux said in a social media statement this week, 'œI don't feel I have demonstrated strong enough maturity or character'ť to be drafted this year. Bergevin made it clear Mailloux, 18, was eligible to be taken.
'œWe understand, and we're fully aware and we as an organization (believe) it's very unacceptable, but also it's a young man that made a terrible mistake," Bergevin said. "He's remorseful and he has a lot of work to do, but he already started to put it behind him and have a hockey career.'ť
In a prepared statement he read before taking questions, Bergevin said the Canadiens 'œnot only selected a promising hockey player, but also a young man who recently admitted to making a serious mistake'ť and 'œby no means minimize the severity of Logan's actions.'ť
Bergevin said the Canadiens are committed to helping Mailloux by 'œproviding him with the tools to mature and the necessary support to guide him in his development.'ť
HUGHES BROTHERS REUNITE
When the New Jersey Devils took Luke Hughes with the fourth pick, brother Jack jumped up off the couch next to him and was shaking with excitement while giving a big bear hug.
'œThat might be the happiest I've ever seen him,'ť Luke said.
With good reason because they could be teammates one day. Jack Hughes is 117 games into his NHL career since the Devils picked him first in the 2019 draft, and now Luke is on the path to New Jersey.
'œIt's a dream come true to play in the NHL, and it's also a dream come true to play with your brother," Luke said. "Both those things are happening tonight."
Luke is the third Hughes brother drafted in the top 10 in the past four years after Quinn went ninth to Vancouver in 2018. Quinn, who was sitting next to Luke and Jack watching the draft together at their family's home in Michigan, said, 'œThe brother dynamic, I'm a little jealous.'ť
Luke Hughes put on his brother's No. 86 Devils jersey - with the tags still attached - and said he'd like to wear No. 43 if he makes it to the NHL. Jack certainly hopes so.
'œIt's a great pick for our team,'ť he said on the draft broadcast. 'œWe're getting a great player. But I'm just a proud older brother right now.'ť
Luke Hughes is committed to playing at Michigan next season, where he could be teammates with Buffalo No. 1 pick Owen Power if the big defenseman goes back to school. Players from or going to Michigan were taken with four of the first five selections, including Matthew Beniers second to the expansion Seattle Kraken as the first pick in franchise history.
DRAFTED SONS
The family connections from the first round did not end with the Hughes brothers.
Tyler Boucher, son of former NHL goaltender Brian Boucher, went 10th to Ottawa. Cole Sillinger, son of retired forward Mike Sillinger, went next to Columbus. Chase Stillman, son of Cory Stillman, was picked 29th by New Jersey.
'œTo see him have a moment like this, it's overwhelming," Brian Boucher said. "It's one thing to happen to you personally. When it happens to your child, it brings out a lot of pride.'ť
The Blue Jackets were one of the record 12 teams Mike Sillinger played for during his 17 NHL seasons, and Cole was born in Columbus.
Cole said he inherited his father's hockey sense and compete level.
'œHe was very relied upon in all three zones,'ť he said. 'œHe was relied upon in key situations, whether it was taking the faceoff or needed to get a big penalty kill. That's something that I really try to model after my game to be really relied upon and trusted by my teammates.'ť
WILD HONOR KURVERS
The Minnesota Wild used their first-round picks to honor late assistant general manager Tom Kurvers, who died last month of lung cancer. GM Bill Guerin called Kurvers someone who had a positive impact on everyone he interacted with.
The team had Kurvers' four children help make the 20th pick, Swedish goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, and 26th pick, Canadian defenseman Carson Lambos.
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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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