So how good will Mailloux be?

[callitwhatyouwant]

One cold hard fact was that he was an all star in his two years in the minors. I also don’t consider a defenseman who was rookie of the year and another who has been in the NHL for three years NHL “prospects”.And Reinbacher is hurt every year. So calling Mailoux Montreal’s fourth best defensive prospect is at variance with the facts.

this is the thing with Mailloux. He's clearly a NHL level player. He was an all star 2 times at a very young age in the AHL. He was too good for that league. There's only 1 more place to go. It's just a matter of finding out what he will become. And we aren't getting that answer this season. He could have an All star level season and you would not know if that sticks next year at his age. My hope is that he is good enough to overlook the errors and he's not a guy that the staff feels like they have to sit and go 5 defenders when he gets a start or something. It's all about REPS REPS REPS for him. you can only get what he needs on game day.

[TBone]

I think the video is accurate. People have high hopes for Mailloux but it is not based on what he has done but what they hope he can develop into. The reason Habs leadership fell out of graces with him was he was a liability on defense and a major risk taker. That will be one of the first things Army needs to address. I suspect he will get some games early in the year to see how he progresses, but may share time when the games count.

Trades always bring optimism and people thoughts Mailloux was the second coming of Pronger. The cold facts is he was a defensive liability in the minors and a defensive liability with the Habs. The only hope is he does not cause too much pain while Blues figure out if he is developable.

Who compared him to Pronger?

No schmidt. I don't know one guy in my circle who was happy about this trade. Not one.

Hoping he can eventually become a facsimile of Pronger is all you can hang your hat on.

[a smell of green grass]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

Why do we draft wingers, and not C's and RHD's? You're right. It's not a conspiracy. The very easy answer and we saw it again in 2025 with Carbonnaeu. It's draft position. There are very few elite NHL-level C's and RHD's available, and they are long gone by #10.

You are missing my point about being the 4th-best. Mailloux was the 4th-best PROSPECT, a young player not a KNOWN-COMMODITY in the NHL yet.

Bolduc was our #2 prospect (behind Snuggerud), and in 6 months, it may be clear that he was really our #1.

My point here is this...
Montreal gave up their 4th WEAKEST UNPROVEN PROSPECT.
St Louis gave up their one and only #1 PROVEN YOUNG prospect.

[DawgDad]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

Why do we draft wingers, and not C's and RHD's? You're right. It's not a conspiracy. The very easy answer and we saw it again in 2025 with Carbonnaeu. It's draft position. There are very few elite NHL-level C's and RHD's available, and they are long gone by #10.

You are missing my point about being the 4th-best. Mailloux was the 4th-best PROSPECT, a young player not a KNOWN-COMMODITY in the NHL yet.

Bolduc was our #2 prospect (behind Snuggerud), and in 6 months, it may be clear that he was really our #1.

My point here is this...
Montreal gave up their 4th WEAKEST UNPROVEN PROSPECT.
St Louis gave up their one and only #1 PROVEN YOUNG prospect.

Did you see Pronger play when the Blues first acquired him? That first season wasn't pretty. You could see the talent but he was still very raw, made a ton of mistakes. He was very young but he had played 124 games with Hartford. Have to remember, the Blues traded an all-star and eventual HOF winger for him, not a Bolduc.

Mailloux needs something most young players need, something you expressly aren't willing to accept or provide - patience. Cooler minds understand this.

[b-a-a-a-rclay]

I like the thread title. We should be able to answer this question regarding a dman within his first 10 games in the league. According to the voters of the AHL 2024-2025 all prospects team Mailloux was one of the 2 dmen voted as having the most NHL potential. But he made some rookie mistakes with a new team in his 9th NHL game. So, ...

[Atlantis17A]

Your words "Montreal's 4th best young defense prospect".

[STL fan in MN]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

Why do we draft wingers, and not C's and RHD's? You're right. It's not a conspiracy. The very easy answer and we saw it again in 2025 with Carbonnaeu. It's draft position. There are very few elite NHL-level C's and RHD's available, and they are long gone by #10.

You are missing my point about being the 4th-best. Mailloux was the 4th-best PROSPECT, a young player not a KNOWN-COMMODITY in the NHL yet.

Bolduc was our #2 prospect (behind Snuggerud), and in 6 months, it may be clear that he was really our #1.

My point here is this...
Montreal gave up their 4th WEAKEST UNPROVEN PROSPECT.
St Louis gave up their one and only #1 PROVEN YOUNG prospect.

Except nobody would remotely ever agree with you that Bolduc was our 2nd best, possibly 1st best, prospect. Back when he was a prospect, he was routinely ranked around 5th or 6th. And that seems accurate to me.

It’s all about long term projection when ranking prospects. You seem to be way myopic to NHL success and seem to be ignoring that Bolduc producing in the NHL would have a lot more to do with him being older than Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc than him actually likely being the better player longterm. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Also, there’s no such thing as a proven prospect as once they’re proven, they’re not a prospect anymore. Duh. But if you meant proven young player then no, he clearly wasn’t the one and only one we had. Neighbours is proven too and Snuggerud was pretty darn close to being proven in just a short amount of time. And of course Broberg and Holloway as well. The success of lots of others made Bolduc expendable.

[seattleblue]

Except nobody would remotely ever agree with you that Bolduc was our 2nd best, possibly 1st best, prospect. Back when he was a prospect, he was routinely ranked around 5th or 6th. And that seems accurate to me.

It’s all about long term projection when ranking prospects. You seem to be way myopic to NHL success and seem to be ignoring that Bolduc producing in the NHL would have a lot more to do with him being older than Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc than him actually likely being the better player longterm. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Also, there’s no such thing as a proven prospect as once they’re proven, they’re not a prospect anymore. Duh. But if you meant proven young player then no, he clearly wasn’t the one and only one we had. Neighbours is proven too and Snuggerud was pretty darn close to being proven in just a short amount of time. And of course Broberg and Holloway as well. The success of lots of others made Bolduc expendable.

Imagine a belligerent Corky, lunging at the T-ball.

CORKY HITS IT!! he shouts as he fouls one off

faceplants and needs special help getting up

[zamadoo]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

Why do we draft wingers, and not C's and RHD's? You're right. It's not a conspiracy. The very easy answer and we saw it again in 2025 with Carbonnaeu. It's draft position. There are very few elite NHL-level C's and RHD's available, and they are long gone by #10.

You are missing my point about being the 4th-best. Mailloux was the 4th-best PROSPECT, a young player not a KNOWN-COMMODITY in the NHL yet.

Bolduc was our #2 prospect (behind Snuggerud), and in 6 months, it may be clear that he was really our #1.

My point here is this...
Montreal gave up their 4th WEAKEST UNPROVEN PROSPECT.
St Louis gave up their one and only #1 PROVEN YOUNG prospect.

Did you see Pronger play when the Blues first acquired him? That first season wasn't pretty. You could see the talent but he was still very raw, made a ton of mistakes. He was very young but he had played 124 games with Hartford. Have to remember, the Blues traded an all-star and eventual HOF winger for him, not a Bolduc.

Mailloux needs something most young players need, something you expressly aren't willing to accept or provide - patience. Cooler minds understand this.

I could actually see Mailloux having a trajectory similar to Pronger in terms of points.

He could eventually be like a combo of Pronger and MacInnis during their time in STL. Not quite the size and brutality as Pronger, not quite the offensive prowess of MacInnis, and likely never as good a defender as either.

I say again: he is like a bigger and meaner version Kyrou playing defense.

[theograce]

I could actually see Mailloux having a trajectory similar to Pronger in terms of points.

He could eventually be like a combo of Pronger and MacInnis during their time in STL. Not quite the size and brutality as Pronger, not quite the offensive prowess of MacInnis, and likely never as good a defender as either.

I say again: he is like a bigger and meaner version Kyrou playing defense.

I see Mails as more of a Orr/Potvin/Lemieux hybrid

[seattleblue]

I could actually see Mailloux having a trajectory similar to Pronger in terms of points.

He could eventually be like a combo of Pronger and MacInnis during their time in STL. Not quite the size and brutality as Pronger, not quite the offensive prowess of MacInnis, and likely never as good a defender as either.

I say again: he is like a bigger and meaner version Kyrou playing defense.

I see Mails as more of a Orr/Potvin/Lemieux hybrid

I hope not, all of those guys are like 60 and 70 now

[zamadoo]

I could actually see Mailloux having a trajectory similar to Pronger in terms of points.

He could eventually be like a combo of Pronger and MacInnis during their time in STL. Not quite the size and brutality as Pronger, not quite the offensive prowess of MacInnis, and likely never as good a defender as either.

I say again: he is like a bigger and meaner version Kyrou playing defense.

I see Mails as more of a Orr/Potvin/Lemieux hybrid

I see what you mean. Adding Brendan Lemieux for the size/toughness and to average the points out.

I was just thinking Mailloux could score 35pts as a 22 year old, 36pts as a 23 year old, and average 49pts per season over his career using his rocket shot, great skating, and offensive instincts/skill while also having some big hits and fights in the modern era.

But I do see what you mean by including smaller guys who put up big points in different eras.

[a smell of green grass]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

Why do we draft wingers, and not C's and RHD's? You're right. It's not a conspiracy. The very easy answer and we saw it again in 2025 with Carbonnaeu. It's draft position. There are very few elite NHL-level C's and RHD's available, and they are long gone by #10.

You are missing my point about being the 4th-best. Mailloux was the 4th-best PROSPECT, a young player not a KNOWN-COMMODITY in the NHL yet.

Bolduc was our #2 prospect (behind Snuggerud), and in 6 months, it may be clear that he was really our #1.

My point here is this...
Montreal gave up their 4th WEAKEST UNPROVEN PROSPECT.
St Louis gave up their one and only #1 PROVEN YOUNG prospect.

Except nobody would remotely ever agree with you that Bolduc was our 2nd best, possibly 1st best, prospect. Back when he was a prospect, he was routinely ranked around 5th or 6th. And that seems accurate to me.

It’s all about long term projection when ranking prospects. You seem to be way myopic to NHL success and seem to be ignoring that Bolduc producing in the NHL would have a lot more to do with him being older than Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc than him actually likely being the better player longterm. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Also, there’s no such thing as a proven prospect as once they’re proven, they’re not a prospect anymore. Duh. But if you meant proven young player then no, he clearly wasn’t the one and only one we had. Neighbours is proven too and Snuggerud was pretty darn close to being proven in just a short amount of time. And of course Broberg and Holloway as well. The success of lots of others made Bolduc expendable.

How were the prospects evaluated? Was grit and toughness part of the equation?
Who is tougher? Bolduc or Dvorsky plus Stenberg combined?

[STL fan in MN]

Summary of the Bolduc/Mailloux trade.

In exchange for a very good young prospect that has pounded his way onto an NHL roster (Bolduc), St Louis got Montreals's 4th best defensive prospect that hasn't made a weak Montreal roster after several chances--that comes with a serious off-ice issue.

There is no question that St Louis is taking the BIGGEST RISK in this trade. In 6 months, we will know how good or disastrous the trade was.

The question that you should be asking is what sequence of events led to St Louis needing a RHD so DESPERATELY, that they were willing to take the risk.

Well that’s an easy question to answer. It’s because the Blues have been drafting a ton of forwards, primarily wingers, the last 6-7 years - Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc. In 2024, they drafted RD Adam Jiricek but he just finished his 18 yr old season. 18-19 yr old d-men are almost never NHL ready yet and the Blues needed a RD now. So they traded one of their many wingers for a RD. No conspiracy theory needed. They were thin on RD with a glut of wingers. They made a trade to balance that out with a team, Montreal, that had the opposite imbalance.

Also, you talk of Mailloux as the “4th best D prospect” Montreal had but then twist it to praise Bolduc. But he was our 6th best winger behind Kyrou, Holloway, Buchy, Snuggerud and Neighbours.

Why do we draft wingers, and not C's and RHD's? You're right. It's not a conspiracy. The very easy answer and we saw it again in 2025 with Carbonnaeu. It's draft position. There are very few elite NHL-level C's and RHD's available, and they are long gone by #10.

You are missing my point about being the 4th-best. Mailloux was the 4th-best PROSPECT, a young player not a KNOWN-COMMODITY in the NHL yet.

Bolduc was our #2 prospect (behind Snuggerud), and in 6 months, it may be clear that he was really our #1.

My point here is this...
Montreal gave up their 4th WEAKEST UNPROVEN PROSPECT.
St Louis gave up their one and only #1 PROVEN YOUNG prospect.

Except nobody would remotely ever agree with you that Bolduc was our 2nd best, possibly 1st best, prospect. Back when he was a prospect, he was routinely ranked around 5th or 6th. And that seems accurate to me.

It’s all about long term projection when ranking prospects. You seem to be way myopic to NHL success and seem to be ignoring that Bolduc producing in the NHL would have a lot more to do with him being older than Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg etc than him actually likely being the better player longterm. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Also, there’s no such thing as a proven prospect as once they’re proven, they’re not a prospect anymore. Duh. But if you meant proven young player then no, he clearly wasn’t the one and only one we had. Neighbours is proven too and Snuggerud was pretty darn close to being proven in just a short amount of time. And of course Broberg and Holloway as well. The success of lots of others made Bolduc expendable.

How were the prospects evaluated? Was grit and toughness part of the equation?
Who is tougher? Bolduc or Dvorsky plus Stenberg combined?

Back when all 3 were prospects I would’ve rated their grit and toughness in order of Dvorsky, Stenberg and then Bolduc with Neighbours and Snuggerud also ahead of Bolduc in that category. As of today, I’d have it pretty much in the same order. Maybe flip flop Stenberg and Dvorsky.

This is where you clearly show your lack of knowledge. I and some others here actually watch these guys play. And watched them play in Jrs, college etc. Back when he was in Jrs, Bolduc actually shied away from contact quite regularly. He was a complete wallflower. Very talented but for 3 playoffs in a row, got neutralized in the QMJHL playoffs as he wasn’t battling through as the play got more physical in the playoffs compared to the regular season. He was then pretty meek in the AHL and first 40 or so games in the NHL. Monty then challenged him to find that part of him game. Told him he needed to add that to keep a spot in the lineup. And to Bolduc’s credit he did. But I still wouldn’t call him gritty or tough. He’s more feisty. He stands up for himself now and doesn’t almost always stick to the parameter like he used to.

Out of the recent Blues draftees, the only one I’d truly describe as gritty and tough would be Neighbours. I think Stenberg is going to be an absolute pain in the butt to play against too though. His compete level along the boards and in front of the net is top notch. Dvorsky was a bull against teenagers. He’s not currently against grown men but once he gains strength, I expect that part of his game to emerge again. It’s who he is. Snuggerud is solid and while not gritty, holds his own. That’s about where Bolduc is too now IMO. But as a prospect, he was actually a complete passive wallflower. Monty drew that out of him and as long as he maintains that edge, it’s going to help him a lot longterm.