Montreal Canadiens: Highlighting the 2007 NHL Draft Class
By Austin Owens
Round One / Pick 22 – Max Pacioretty / LW / Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
The USHL has become a more and more popular option for prospects to play in during their draft year. It has also produced some of the better talents in the NHL today.
The Habs doubled up on Americans in the first round, taking Pacioretty with the 22nd pick of the draft.
Whereas McDonagh never got to see regular season action with the Canadiens, Pacioretty is a name that every Habs fan has come to know and love.
At the time, the winger was coming off a season with the Sioux City Musketeers where he scored 63 points in 60 games, which was second best on the team. He wasn’t afraid to mix it up either, with 119 penalty minutes amassed in 2006-07.
After being drafted, Pacioretty went to Ann Arbor to play a season for the Michigan Wolverines. He managed to score 39 points in 37 games.
He made his NHL debut for the Canadiens during the 2008-09 season. Over the next three years, he split time with the Habs and the Hamilton Bulldogs. At that point, his career high in points was 24.
He blew that number out of the water in his first full NHL season. Pacioretty scored 33 goals in 2011-12 en route to a 65 point campaign. That summer, he had a huge World Championships with the United States, with 12 points in eight games.
Pacioretty was also a member of the United States Olympic team in 2014, however, he only managed one point across five games.
Before the 2015-16 season, Pacioretty was named the 29th captain in Canadiens history. He was the second consecutive American captain for the Habs.
A consistent producer in the lineup over his career, Pacioretty is in the prime of his career and can build on an already solid career over the next year.