In the NHL it's rare to find open interesting characters. That's not to say the guys aren't interesting characters, because I'm sure they are behind closed doors. However there's this bizarre culture of woodenness in a "tow the cliché company line" way so if a guy breaks the mold and opens up he's seen as an oddity. Maybe it's the nature of the Jock Culture, where everyone has to be the same and oddities get singled out as misfits, weirdos, losers, or nerds. I mean how many "point and laugh" comments did you catch from snarky fans and incredulous media when we saw Carey Price having fun at the rodeo where he was trying to be the best in the ring? Trust me, there were many. One just needs to look at the contrast between Crosby (wood puppet) and Ovechkin (psycho entity).
When PK Subban was drafted and proudly proclaimed to Bob Gainey that he will not regret drafting him and that he will bring the Cup to this franchise, such comments were scoffed at. "How dare he proclaim such cocky arrogance!" said a few, fearing he would anger the Hockey Gods with such actions. Don't mistake cockiness with absolute confidence.
Don Cherry seems to be on a crusade to destroy any player that isn't the standard by publicly criticizing them in his Coach's Corner time slot, all while wearing what looks like recycled flamboyant chesterfields for suits.
So naturally when Max Pacioretty openly illustrated the development path he'd like to take, well the broken telephone of the media went apeshit and twisted his words to accuse him of being arrogant while completely misinterpreting what he was saying. And who can seriously say that he was wrong? How many times have we accused Martin of ruining the development of young players by not playing them, by punishing them for one little mistake (though picking his spots with his favourites), and by screaming at the wall that we will lose these young prospects who will go on to have better careers elsewhere while our team gets old? Prime example is Ryan O'Byrne, who doesn't put the puck over the glass any more than Roman Hamrlik and who's confidence is probably so shot one has to wonder how salvageable he is right now. Another is Ben Maxwell, who spent the entire end of last season as a useless healthy scratch then expected to suddenly play in a foreign position and we wondered why he failed miserably at it.
Max Pacioretty WANTS to be a top 6 forward. In other words, he wants Benoit Pouliot's job. To do that, he WANTS to develop in Hamilton properly like Subban did. He WANTS to succeed and help the team that way. He was DRAFTED to be that guy, to be that power forward, and like any other smart first rounder he's working to reach his potential by realizing what he needs to do and fix (including getting stronger so his body can handle the role he wants to play). And you know what? He just might pull it off, because at the end of the year Benoit Pouliot might find himself in another uniform. Of course many people think the 21-year-old Connecticut native made these claims because he still has a fragile psyche. You're talking about a guy who reads sports psychology books "for fun" here. I'm sure he's learned a thing or two. In fact I think it's because of those books that he's able to stand proud and say what his plan is. It's rare to hear a player speak so honestly these days...
All he wants is to be the player the Habs drafted him to be, instead of just another "failed" first round pick that turns into a 3rd-4th line role player. Habs have plenty of guys to fill the role of energy guy/checking forward. And if he opens his mouth in public to confidently say so, then I say more power to him.
However, like when Price told the angry mob in preseason to "chill", it's now up to Pacioretty to realize his goal. And to that, I wish him good luck. I look forward to #67 flying down the wing at break-neck speed and burying a puck top-shelf in the future.