“I came out stronger than before” – Center Hendrix Lapierre joins Capitals training camp after his NHL debut

“I came out stronger than before” – Center Hendrix Lapierre joins Capitals training camp after his NHL debut

Hendrix Lapierre

The Washington Capitals chose center player Hendrix Lapierre during the 2020 NHL Draft as the 20th overall. He made the team roster as a 19-year-old and debuted in NHL by participating in six games before being assigned to Acadie-Bathurst of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He will be joining the Capitals training camp again this September as one of the backup candidates while Nicklas Backstrom recovers from a left hip injury.

But this time around, Lapierre will be facing double hardship than last season. Unlike the previous season, the Capitals signed Dylan Strome to a 1-year $3.5 million contract on July 14th and added Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, Connor McMichael, and Nic Dowd. This leaves the 20-year-old center to play with Hershey of the AHL, though he stated that he knew t would come to this sooner than later.

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Hendrix Lapierre returned to play with Hershey

Hendrix Lapierre
Hendrix Lapierre

During the Capitals’ development training camp last week, Hendrix Lapierre said, “Obviously, I want to make the Washington Capitals is my objective and, I think if I have a camp like last year, I’ll put the odds on my side,”. “If I have to play in Hershey or whatever, I’ll just be ready for whatever I need to do. I’ll arrive at camp and I’ll be ready and whatever happens, happens.”

It was a rollercoaster ride for Lapierre as he had his NHL debut, his first NHL goal against the New York Rangers while later being sent down to QMJHL, and not getting selected for the 2022 World Junior Championship. With Acadie-Bathurst he scored 51 points in 40 regular-season games and 11 points in 8 playoff games.

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According to nhl.com, Lapierre said, “At the start, it was very hard,”. “I was very, very happy to be here, and then when I got sent down, I thought it wasn’t going to hit me too much, but once I got sent down, I missed the time here. So, I had an up-and-down season … but I think in general, I came out stronger than when I arrived.” Though he had an inconsistent streak, he can take the NHL experience to further hone his skills with Hershey.

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