Defenseman has encountered struggles in early games with Blues this season, will be replaced by Matthew Kessel
MARYLAND NEIGHTS, Mo. -- When St. Louis Blues practice ended on Friday, there were three guys left on the ice.
And once Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud left, only one remained. At the opposite end of the ice, by himself, head down, working with the puck.
It was defenseman Logan Mailloux.
The 22-year-old will be a healthy scratch on Saturday when the Blues (2-2-0) host the Dallas Stars (3-1-0) on Saturday.
It’s probably the expected outcome after Mailloux, playing in his fourth game with the Blues this season and just his 12th in the NHL, was a minus-4 playing 15:49 on Wednesday in an 8-3 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks. He is a minus-7 in four games this season with no points.
Matthew Kessel will replace Mailloux and play alongside Tyler Tucker, but the Blues, who were hoping Mailloux would be shot out of a cannon and be an immediate impact, has shown signs of good play, but it’s obvious that the long-term vision has come into focus again and something that has never been cast aside.
“When you think about players’ development in the league, it’s always goaltenders take the longest,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “That’s why they play to the oldest average age. Defensemen are second. Forwards finish the youngest, especially in the modern era. Forwards usually at the age of 32, they’re starting to decline. For a defenseman, it’s more like 34-35 and goaltenders, it’s more like 37. It’s just the way it seems like it’s been.
“And that being said, have you guys heard of Fabian Brunnstrom? A 2008 free agent signing. Everybody wanted to sign him. First game in the league, scored three goals. Everybody was like, ‘Here’s the new Jari Kurri or Mats Sundin in the National Hockey League.’ You guys haven’t heard of him. There’s a reason, right? And then there’s other guys … this is a hard league to break into, especially at that position. We’re thinking the long game with Logan Mailloux. Sometimes you need a reset. You go up in the press box, watch a game, you see how much time you have, you see how to take away time and we’re going to work with him. We have a plan and when he gets back in the lineup, I don’t ever expect him to come back out.”
Fans have already voiced displeasure at the trade that brought Mailloux from the Montreal Canadiens for Zack Bolduc, who scored in his first three games with the Canadiens and had an assist, becoming the seventh Canadiens player in their history to score in his first three games with the club.
That’s why not only will the club make sure to nurture Mailloux on the ice but off it as well.
“As a coach, you have to look after everybody mentally. It’s part of the job,” Montgomery said. “To be able to support these guys, sometimes you’ve got to kick them in the rear end. You need to build them up so that they understand that you believe in them, but ice time, I love the line from Bobby Knight: there’s nothing that teaches people better than ass meet bench, bench meet ass. That’s the only tool a coach has always had to get a player’s attention when they’re not playing to the team standard, and that’s not the case with Logan Mailloux, but it’s often been the case at times in the past. Not with him, but with other players.”
The Blues won’t allow the outside noise to disrupt their overall vision for Mailloux, who has the backing of his teammates.
“He’s going to be a great player,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “You watch him skate, you watch him shoot, he’s steady, he’s strong back there. There’s no doubt about that. I’m looking forward to watching that guy grow and become a dominant force back there. I have full faith in him. He’s a great player. We’re just all looking forward to watching him grow, but at the end of the day, it’s a group effort no matter what. That’s the bottom line. We’re all wearing the Bluenote together.
“It’s got to be difficult obviously going to a new team and you want to play well and things like that. He’s a great player. I have full confidence in him. I’m just looking forward to watching him continue to grow and just keep building.”
Captain Brayden Schenn said, “He's played 11 games or 12 games,” Schenn said. “There's a lot of pressure on him coming from outside. I believe in Logan Mailloux, we believe in Logan Mailloux, and the organization does. I think people are always going to look at this one-for-one. It's not a one-for-one. It's a long-term plan, and he's a great player.
“Like I said, he's played four games for us and it's a new organization ... new coaching, new system, there's a lot of stuff that goes into it. Honestly, I think he's getting ... there's no reason to put pressure on the kid. He's young, and he's getting his feet wet, and he's going to be a good player for a long time, and I firmly believe that.”
There will come a time, whether it be the next game on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings or even further along the line when Mailloux returns and has that game where he figures out he belongs in the league. The Blues know it will come tomorrow, the day after, next month, maybe next year, whenever it happens, it will come.
“Everybody’s different when they have that ah-hah moment,” Montgomery said. “His ah-hah moment hasn’t happened yet, and there’s always a moment for every player where it’s like, ‘not only can I survive in this league, but I can thrive in this league,’ and it’s going to happen for him. He’s too talented, he’s too good. When I meet with him, I always leave excited about how future’s going to be.”
Blues Making Changes Throughout Lineup For Game Saturday Against Stars
Blues coach Jim Montgomery puts forward lines through blender at practice on Friday.
Kessel To Debut For Blues Saturday Against Stars
Defenseman has been a healthy scratch for four games, will replace Mailloux