Washington Capitals: Hendrix Lapierre makes a big first impression

When Hendrix Lapierre arrived in Arlington for Rookie Camp, he had one goal on his mind: make the Washington Capitals. Not only did he do that, but he showed the coaches, scouts and the rest of the organization that they made the right call one year ago trading up for him in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Lapierre dominated in the preseason with five assists. He deserved a spot on the third line centering it and on Wednesday night against the New York Rangers with his family in attendance he made a huge splash.

Coming down the ice in the second period, T.J. Oshie got the fans out of their seats by setting up Lapierre with a beautiful no look pass through his legs. Lapierre had only the goaltender to beat and he did just that while crashing into the boards. But running on pure adrenaline, he felt no pain from the impact as Oshie pulled him up while the two embrace.

For comparisons sake, I’m going to compare that board crash to a similar play I made while playing baseball. I was on third base and there was a wild pitch. I took off for home. The catcher grabbed the ball and threw it to the pitcher but it hit my arm as I slid into home to score the run. I felt nothing from that throw because of that exhilarating feeling of scoring a run. I can tell you from that experience, Lapierre felt nothing from that board crash.

Lapierre grew up idolizing Alex Ovechkin. After his goal you couldn’t see him stop smiling and there was even a moment of the two of them smiling at each other on the bench that the cameras caught. His childhood idol had a memorable game himself with two goals in the third period to pass Marcel Dionne for fifth place in the NHL’s all time goal scoring list.

“Growing up you watch him play, but to see that in real life and the way he finds a way to score goals, it’s pretty impressive. He was a game-time decision, and he comes in and scores two goals.”

Lapierre’s family that flew in from Canada for the game included his mom and dad, brother and sister, girlfriend, and two grandparents. He did not see where they sat in the stands but like the fans, they went crazy after the goal as well.

“I didn’t get to see them before the game. I really wanted to concentrate on the game 100 percent. I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about. I don’t know where they were sitting. I don’t know how they celebrated. But I’m sure they were pretty happy. It’s a good reward to everyone for the past years; it hasn’t always been easy.”

It certainly wasn’t for Lapierre. The Caps were able to select him late in the first round as he was coming off an injury which made him fall down the draft board. But it was sheer luck for the Caps that he was available at the right time and that the scouts saw something in the kid. For a team heavy with veterans, Lapierre will be an important face among the youth.

Welcome to the NHL Hendrix Lapierre! We can’t wait to see more goals and what you can bring to the squad.