Montreal Canadiens’ sniper Max Pacioretty hosted a charity golf tournament in Laval this morning. With members of the media present, Pacioretty fielded questions and took advantage of the opportunity to make a few bold statements concerning some of his teammates.
After a season to forget last year, the captain noticed a few bright spots and spoke openly about two of the team’s younger players of whom he expects big things in 2016-2017.
With Shea Weber arriving to town, speculation has been rampant concerning who his left-handed defensive partner could possibly be. To most, that happens to be Nathan Beaulieu, and Pacioretty put a little pressure on his shoulders earlier today:
(Translated from RDS.ca)
“For Beaulieu, the time has come for him to shine. He was our best player during a few matches last year and we want to see him perform at that level from the start. He needs to seize the moment and show the extent of his talent.…
Number 28 isn’t the only player who has a golden opportunity. Pacioretty had this to say about a certain forward:
“I played with (Sven) Andrighetto and he stood out at times. He has an excellent skill set and it will be up to him to get stronger and show consistency…
Additionally, Pacioretty pointed out that last year’s debacle is a thing of the past, and that the team has no intention of repeating the same kind of mistakes.
“We learned a lot, gained some experience and dealt with adversity. Personally, I improve when I overcome obstacles and the same can be said about my teammates. We feel motivated to prove ourselves.…
In his case, he feels ready to play in the World Cup of Hockey. This time last year, he was nursing a knee injury that many argued caused him to be a mere shadow of his usual scoring self during last season. Granted, he had missed training camp in 2015, though the World Cup should prove to be a good preparatory test for the American.