Washington Capitals: Top 3 prospects to watch at Rookie Camp
Washington Capitals hockey is (sort of) back! Today the prospects hit the ice with the goalies taking the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex at 1 p.m. and the rest of the roster at 1:20. There are also sessions tomorrow and Monday. All practice sessions are free and open to the public, just don’t forget your mask. If you are able to make it to the rink, here are the top 3 players to watch.
There will be 20 players participating in this year’s Rookie Camp. That includes 10 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies. New Hershey Bears head coach Scott Allen will coach and oversee the prospects over the next three days.
#3 Vincent Iorio
Vincent Iorio was the Capitals first selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, selecting the defenseman in the second round at 55th overall. The 18 year old was ranked 27th among North American defensemen by NHL Central Scouting. Listed as six foot three and 191 pounds, Iorio recorded 12 points with five goals and seven assists in 22 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season.
This will be our first look at Iorio as he attends his first Rookie Camp. He was ranked third among What King defensemen in points last season and his 0.55 points per game was the highest of his three year WHL career.
#2 Hendrix Lapierre
Hendrix Lapierre was a center the Washington Capitals selected in the first round at 22nd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Caps actually traded up for him, expressing confidence in the young center. Not only is he an excellent prospect but he’s a bright kid.
During the 2020-21 season, Lapierre was named one of the QMJHL’s Scholastic Players for the month of December 2020. He ranked eighth in the QMJHL in points per game with 1.48 in 2020-21 while recording 31 points with eight goals and 23 assists in 21 games with Chicoutimi. He led Chicoutimi in assists while ranking second on the team in points.
Listed as six foot and 178 pounds, Lapierre recorded nine multi point games including a career high four points with two goals and two assists vs. Shawingigan on Oct. 2. Lapierre also registered 12 points in nine playoff games with five goals and seven assists.
Over the summer on June 23, :Lapierre was traded to the Acadia-Bathurst Titan from Chicoutimi. He recently took part in Canada’s 2021-22 National Junior Team Summer Showcase along with 2021 second rounder Iorio.
It will be a bit of time before we see Lapierre in both a Bears and Capitals sweater but after no Rookie Camp last season, we finally get our first look at him.
#1 Connor McMichael
Connor McMichael will take part in his second rookie camp with the Caps and all eyes will be on him as the kid hopes to make the NHL roster. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 24 against the Buffalo Sabres while spending the rest of the season with the Hershey Bears, appearing in all 33 of their games.
McMichael led the Bears in goals with 14 along with 27 points in his first season in the AHL. Among all AHL rookies, McMichael was tied for second in goals and sixth in points while ranking first in game winning goals with eight. He also tied for fourth in power play goals with six among all AHL skaters.
Capitals’ 2019 first-rounder Connor McMichael does his solo lap around the ice ahead of his NHL debut. pic.twitter.com/XNNjfplde1
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) January 24, 2021
McMichael became the first Capitals prospect since John Carlson in 2009-10 to be named to both the AHL North Division All Star Team and the AHL All Rookie Team. He also represented Team Canada in the World Junior Championship for the second year in a row recording eight points with four goals and four assists en route to Canada’s silver medal.
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McMichael was selected 25th overall in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He is the one prospect participating in this camp that has the most legitimate shot to make the NHL roster. It is his time to shine.