Player Discussion 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Pick 22: Capitals select Hendrix Lapierre, C, Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL

Kalopsia

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Jun 25, 2018
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I’m a member of the TSLH podcast (in french sorry :sarcasm:) and we will be receiving a scout of the Washington Capitals (QJMHL) on our next episode (brag). We would like to give the chance to everyone to ask him questions about his job, scouting, etc. You can shoot them to me here or by private message (as you want). I hope that we will receive a lot of them (the episode will be registered monday and broadcast on wednesday, facebook, youtube, applepodcast and on a lot of other plateform
S of podcast).

I’ll try to translate them here afterward.

Ask him if he feels unappreciated! LaPierre is the first pick the Caps have made out of the Q in a decade, the last one being Stan Galiev in the 3rd round in 2010. A lot of us had started thinking they were intentionally avoiding the Q for some reason.
 

Plekatorz

Registered User
Jun 6, 2019
256
365
Ask him if he feels unappreciated! LaPierre is the first pick the Caps have made out of the Q in a decade, the last one being Stan Galiev in the 3rd round in 2010. A lot of us had started thinking they were intentionally avoiding the Q for some reason.
Good one haha, we will ask him
 
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Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
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At least they have a Q scout. They don't even employ a Finnish scout.
They did recently hire a Finnish European scout, though. They don't really have European scouts exclusive to one country.

I believe Haworth is their QMJHL scout so they do employ one for that league but, of course, it isn't just league play that gets them selected. Lapierre's Hlinka performance may have been just as instrumental. My questions would be what should the expected ETA be for Lapierre from a physical standpoint, assuming a continued clean bill of health? '22-23? Should we expect him on the wing initially given existing center depth? Between McMichael & Lapierre who do you believe is more likely to remain at center if you had to choose between the two? Thanks!
 

Hivemind

We're Touched
Oct 8, 2010
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They did recently hire a Finnish European scout, though. They don't really have European scouts exclusive to one country.

I believe Haworth is their QMJHL scout so they do employ one for that league but, of course, it isn't just league play that gets them selected. Lapierre's Hlinka performance may have been just as instrumental. My questions would be what should the expected ETA be for Lapierre from a physical standpoint, assuming a continued clean bill of health? '22-23? Should we expect him on the wing initially given existing center depth? Between McMichael & Lapierre who do you believe is more likely to remain at center if you had to choose between the two? Thanks!

That's pleasant news. I last looked a year ago, and assumed it hadn't changed.

While the Capitals (and several teams) don't necessarily divide countries by nationality, their lack of drafting out of Finland spoke for itself. When I dug through things in 2019, only four other teams in the NHL didn't have a scout and/or director of scouting of Finnish origin.
 

AlexBrovechkin8

At least there was 2018.
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I’m a member of the TSLH podcast (in french sorry :sarcasm:) and we will be receiving a scout of the Washington Capitals (QJMHL) on our next episode (brag). We would like to give the chance to everyone to ask him questions about his job, scouting, etc. You can shoot them to me here or by private message (as you want). I hope that we will receive a lot of them (the episode will be registered monday and broadcast on wednesday, facebook, youtube, applepodcast and on a lot of other plateform
S of podcast).

I’ll try to translate them here afterward.
Thanks for stopping by! I know it's not his league but I'm sure he's been privy to the conversations so mind asking him his thoughts on the OHL not allowing checking? Does the organization think it's worthwhile for someone like McMichael to spend any time in a non-checking league or does he think a lot of NHL orgs will look to send their OHL prospects overseas?
 
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Plekatorz

Registered User
Jun 6, 2019
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Thanks for stopping by! I know it's not his league but I'm sure he's been privy to the conversations so mind asking him his thoughts on the OHL not allowing checking? Does the organization think it's worthwhile for someone like McMichael to spend any time in a non-checking league or does he think a lot of NHL orgs will look to send their OHL prospects overseas?
Nice one here
 
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JohnCarlsaurus

ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL
Jan 29, 2009
613
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FL
I’m a member of the TSLH podcast (in french sorry :sarcasm:) and we will be receiving a scout of the Washington Capitals on our next episode (brag). We would like to give the chance to everyone to ask him questions about his job, scouting, etc. You can shoot them to me here or by private message (as you want). I hope that we will receive a lot of them (the episode will be registered monday and broadcast on wednesday, facebook, youtube, applepodcast and on a lot of other plateform
S of podcast).

I’ll try to translate them here afterward.
Thanks for doing this.

What does he feel like Lapierre needs to work on the most? I feel like his shot could use some work but he is otherwise pretty skilled all around.
 

Capagonia

Registered User
Oct 20, 2009
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VA
Chicoutimi wins 4-2. Quiet night for Hendrix, 0pts, 2 shots, -1, 4 for 8 on faceoffs.
 

Capagonia

Registered User
Oct 20, 2009
223
160
VA
With the World Junior Camp starting on November 16, it looks like Hendrix could play one or maybe two games before that begins. Chicoutimi is scheduled to play next on November 13 and then November 15. Fingers crossed for Hendrix to play both those games. Logistically he could miss the game on the 15th due to travel. If he makes the team and moves to the Edmonton bubble for the tournament, he could miss 15-16 games in the QMJHL. He would likely be returning to play on January 8, with the gold and bronze medal games being on January 5. If he does not make the team he could return to play in the QMJHL on December 18. In that scenario he would only miss 8-9 games.

*This is all obviously assuming that there aren't any more COVID related stoppages in play.
 

Capagonia

Registered User
Oct 20, 2009
223
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VA
Looks like Chicoutimi‘s games this weekend were postponed again. They won’t play until the 18th now and Hendrix will be in Alberta for WJC camp by then.
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
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Seems more like their second line based on ability. Lapierre also reunited with his Hlinka running mate Perfetti.
 
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tenken00

Oh it's going down in Chinatown
Jan 29, 2010
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Hendrix Lapierre on idolizing Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov comparisons

Really good and long interview with the kid, on the draft, becoming a huge Ovie fan, trying to model his game after Kuzy (he fell in love with the Caps because of Ovie and since Hendrix loves to playmake, he came to love Kuzy's abilities and notes that Kuzy is just so smooth), the draft, the QMJHL season, his health, and the -now- currently ongoing Canada 2021 WJC selection camp.


I'll try to post a few snippets:

It’s a real nice feeling and that I have been drafted by such a nice organization. Alex Ovechkin was probably my idol as a kid, and Evgeny Kuznetsov was the player I compare my game after, I’d say. It was really special, obviously. And being able to live it with my family was special, too.


I took my time, so I feel there’s no problems at all anymore. I feel really good. My head feels good. My neck feels good. So, obviously I understood the concerns because I had injuries but I feel now that’s behind me and I worked really hard to bounce back.


When did you know for sure that you were 100-percent again?
During the summer, I was asking the guys that I was doing one-on-ones with, that they go kind of hard just to make sure that when I was getting to camp I was ready and that was good on that level. Then during camp, there were a couple of physical situations and I responded really well to them. And I was pretty confident too.



I spoke to Connor McMichael earlier and he said he’s looking forward to getting to know you at camp. What do you know about him? And how cool is it to think that, a few years from now, you two could be important players on the Caps?
I’ve watched him a little bit. I kind of knew him from the world juniors last year; he scored a couple of big goals. And I know you had a tremendous season last year with the London Knights. I know he’s pretty much a sniper, has a really good shot. I feel like we’re two different players. I think I’m more of a playmaker and I think he’s more of a sniper, if I’m not mistaken. But I’m really looking forward to meeting him, as well.


What are the things that you want to work on the rest of this season?
My defensive game. I want to be used in all situations. Not only power play, I want to be used in penalty kill, too. End of the game, end of the period. So I feel like if I can grow my defensive side, that can be good. And also my physical side, winning more one-on-one battles. I felt like I got a lot stronger over the course of the past few months, I’d say. Because I didn’t play last year, I was in gym pretty much every day. So I had to try to get stronger faster, but I feel like I can definitely get stronger still.
The last thing is just probably having that shooting mentality. Again, I feel like I did a lot of progress with that, but if I can be a good playmaker, but also have that shooting mentality, I think it can be really be really good for me. You want to make your teammates better but I feel like sometimes you have to shoot instead of trying to make the fancy plays.
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
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McMichael scored a garbage goal for White's fourth in a 4-2 win. He looks a bit bigger, albeit nothing shocking. He was maybe a little more physical at times and did get spot duty on the PK.

Lapierre showed some glimpses but IMO his play away from the puck makes him a long-shot, esp. when considering how stacked this roster will be. He's going to have to kill it offensively with his playmaking to have a chance. He did get PP time but he'll need to be a lot more consistent and generally assertive to make a case. He was on the ice for Red's second goal but he'll need more. Same with Perfetti. In Lapierre's favor is that there's no obvious fourth center after Dach, Cozens & Byfield, esp. if they're not considering McMichael, Tomasino or Rees. That said, you'd think a more defensive type would fit best. I'm not sure Suzuki, Zary or Bourque are that guy and those are the other options currently. Krebs may be the best fit if they play him there. Or Rees. So Hendrix has a chance but it'll also depend on what sort of line they'd be constructing or whether they'd consider him as more of a finesse extra should that type be needed.
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
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Lapierre's just not there yet. Not even close through two games IMO. If Lapierre was highly effective there would be a path for him. He's just not all that engaged most of the time. For center prospects both Lapierre & McMichael have vast areas of improvement needed as it concerns strength, checking and general play away from the puck.

McMichael got some run at center once Cozens left but he remains a lay in the weeds player and more of a winger given his style. McMichael doesn't really look like a clear-cut NHLer as Dach does or on the level of Byram or Cozens. His shot might play and I'm sure he'd match the level he's going up against to a greater extent but he's not enough of a puck hound. Maybe with better linemates and more pace there would be more openings for him to find but the effort for me is just not altogether there either. Decent talents between the two of them but for centers their two-way play and general mentality for the position is nothing special.
 
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Rayquaza64

McMichael>McDavid
May 30, 2019
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idk if its just me but both mcmichael and lapierre look a little bit off from how they normally play. Might just be the high level competition compared to CHL scrubs, but its what ive been noticing. Not too worrying as both are still very young and can adapt, but they probably still each need a year or two before they are ready for the NHL, Lapierre especially.
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
32,264
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Not sure Lapierre makes it past the first cuts and that may not be a bad thing for him. He needs to turn heads and hasn't, despite getting PP time. He's too one-dimensional and against better competition those foundational weaknesses become a lot more evident. Both aren't afforded as much room as they normally get and aren't super involved in the guts of play to will their own consistent sense of rhythm. I don't doubt McMichael ramps it up when the time comes but at least early on he doesn't appear to have gained a step. His ELC cap hit already makes him a tough fit but it also probably makes the most cap sense generally to give him another year before starting it. (Or, at worst, maybe trying the black ace routine again after playing overseas.)
 
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