Quote from Dozy Wannabe:
"[...] the difference between pulling the SS back in HAP mode versus pitch normal is that there is no phugoid-damping in pitch normal, thus less potential impediment to the rate the system can acquire 17.5deg AoA."
No. The EFCS would never permit the AoA of alpha-prot (in this case 14.5 deg) to be exceeded in Normal Law without introducing High-AoA Protection mode. Therefore, to imply that alpha-max might be achieved in a shorter time from Normal Law than from an AoA in High-AoA Protection mode is a non-sequitur.