Laval has been stacked this year, too. They didn't send any of their prospects to the ECHL. They won't do it with Thorpe, either.
Montreal is affiliated with 3R, but they don't run that team. Of course if they send a prospect there, they'll give directives. However, keeping the prospects in Laval means they are hands on in their development. Adam Nicholas and Scott Pellerin, Paul Byron, and Alex Burrows can all get on the ice and work with them, as well as do video sessions.
Also, this whole they need to dominate at a lower level or else they're not ready is not really an honest approach. The guy still put up 27 goals and 52 pts in 68 GP this year and had 3 pts in 5 playoff games. It's not because he's not a PPG that he needs to start at a lower level in the pros.