http://www.montrealgazette.com/sport...749/story.html

The 21-year-old says if he can't be a top-6 forward with the Canadiens, he's happy to stay the entire AHL season in Hamilton. He said as much in an interview with RDS Wednesday and elaborated with The TEAM 990 Radio's Tony Marinaro Thursday morning.
"I just don't see the need, for my development, to play the bottom two lines in the NHL because ultimately I feel I'm going be a top-6 forward," said Pacioretty. "That's what I want to be. I've experienced the bottom two lines in Montreal and it's obviously not what's going to develop me into the player I want to be."
Pacioretty is playing on a line with fellow Canadiens hopefuls Ben Maxwell and Ryan White and has three goals and nine assists in 10 games for the Bulldogs who sit atop the AHL's North Division with a 6-1-1-2 record.
He says he's playing the best hockey of his career with Randy Cunneyworth as Bulldogs head coach, who replaced Guy Boucher, now with the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I've never felt better in my life about my game right now," said Pacioretty. "These coaches (including assistant Randy Ladouceur) have been so great. It's only been 10 games and I feel like I've developed the most I've ever developed in my life.





Apparently these comments have rankled a few folks in the organization, and to some extent I can see why. To say you'd prefer to be in the AHL getting top minutes instead of getting just a few minutes in "the show" would rub some guys the wrong way, and that's fine. Personally, MaxPacho is a guy that I would rather have on the team in that top-six role. He's a first round pick, he's got a fairly big body (especially by Canadiens' standards LOL), and if he can develop into a presence that will go to the net and do all the right things, he will emerge into somebody that can play on the top two lines in Montreal. He's got the right attitude about him, and he wants to continue his growth and development. For all the talk about the Canadiens ruining prospects by rushing them, if they take a long-term view with Pacioretty, that's fine by me.