The 18-year-old defenseman was selected 31st overall by the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Mailloux began his press conference with an opening statement:
During an intimate moment with a young woman, I took a picture of us without her consent. I sent it to my teammates to impress them. It was a totally irresponsible and stupid act that I committed without thinking twice. For that lack of judgment on my part, I was fined by Swedish law. 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. I know I'd said that I did not want to be drafted this year, but as a young man who wants to become a better person, I feel that being accompanied by the Montreal Canadiens organization will help me greatly. They have committed to helping me grow as a person, and I thank them for this. I have already started my personal journey as I'm participating in professional counseling. I thank them for believing in me and giving me a second chance. I promise to not let anybody down. I want to use my personal story to be a part of the solution moving forward.
Here are a few highlights from his exchange with the media:
Mailloux on the sincerity of his apology:
At this point, I just hope that she does know that I am sincere about this. 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 on being drafted by the Canadiens:
I think being in Montreal is definitely going to be big for me. Being such a storied franchise as they are, they know what they're doing. They're going to be able to help me along my journey here of bettering myself as a person and my character. Being in Montreal is something that's going to be able to help me in the short-term and long-term.
Mailloux on being genuinely remorseful for his actions:
I made a stupid mistake. I think I have to earn back that trust. It's not something that should be given to me at all. That's sort of the reason why I came out with that statement on Tuesday. I felt that it was a right that I had not earned to get drafted into the NHL. Being in Montreal, I want to further myself as a person and as an individual, and I hope that I can be a positive impact in the community moving forward. I think they'll be able to help me along those guidelines.
