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Capitals select ‘top-ten talent’ Hendrix Lapierre 22nd overall after injury concerns

By Chris Cerullo and Ian Oland

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October 6, 2020 9:59 pm

The Washington Capitals selected Hendrix Lapierre with the 22nd overall selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. NBCSN called it the “most interesting pick” in the first round. Lapierre plays for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL and was the offensive rookie of the year during 2018-19 season.

The Capitals dealt their 24th overall pick and their 80th overall pick to Calgary to select the Canadian center at 22. Lapierre slipped down the draft board due to serious injury concerns.

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan announced the pick virtually from MedStar Capitals Iceplex.

Video

An emotional and relieved Lapierre hugged his mom after the selection was announced.

The 18-year-old was ranked 13th by NHL Central Scouting among all North American skaters.

But Lapierre fell way down the board due to a difficult year which saw him suffer supposedly three different concussions over a period of nine months. The third injury ended Lapierre’s season on November 21, 2019.

Bob McKenzie explained Lapierre’s story on NBCSN’s coverage of the draft:

The kid has gone through a difficult year and change. If you haven’t been following along, we deemed him the number one wildcard in the first round because of his medical history.

In the summer of 2019, this guy was perceived to be a top-ten talent, elite playmaking ability, strong two-way game. He sustained a concussion in the 18-19 season and he missed nine games. It happens. But the following summer, he looked great at the Hlinka tournament, second on Team Canada in points, but then he got off to a very slow start in October of 2019 and he suffered back-to-back concussions in the span of a month.

So keep in mind here, in nine calendar months, he had three head and neck traumas and the third one shut him down for the balance of the 2019-20 season.

The symptoms weren’t going away so he went to see Dr. Dan Dyrek in Boston. Dr. Dan Dyrek is an athletic therapist who’s worked with Larry Bird, Patrice Bergeron, David Ortiz, and others. They came up with a diagnosis that it wasn’t just concussions that it was a craniocervical traumatic injury and there were some problems with his vertebrae that he got fixed. He got six treatments in the spring. This player was cleared in April to come back and play. There was no where to play obviously. He trained all summer. He believes he’s a healthy player. And he came back and in the first two games of the QMJHL season this past weekend, he scored two goals and two assists in his first game. He scored one goal in his second game.

There were 40 NHL scouts [there] to see him do this.

In an interview with Jamie Hersch after being selected, Lapierre said that he believed he was fully healthy and that the Capitals were not chancing it by selecting him.

“Right now I believe it’s not a risk anymore but obviously I had a really tough season last year with the injuries,” he said. “I feel like being drafted today by Washington is absolutely amazing and I feel like it’s the cherry on the sundae of a pretty negative season. I’m looking forward to the future. Really, really happy.”

Lapierre added that he was a big fan of Alex Ovechkin.

“Growing up, Washington was one of my favorite teams because of Ovechkin so wearing that jersey today feels really good,” he said.

Here’s how the NHL’s Central Scouting describes Lapierre:

  • Great skater with powerful strides. Excellent puck skills and hockey IQ. Able to execute plays at high speed.
  • Creates time and space with his puck skills and has the creativity to make plays. Strong two-way game.
  • A complete player who brings a strong work ethic.

Lapierre is 6-foot tall and weighs 181 pounds. His NHL comparable is Jonathan Toews.

Highlights

Screenshot courtesy of NBCSN

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