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Hendrix Lapierre a healthy scratch for the Hershey Bears

By Chris Cerullo

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February 18, 2023 5:03 pm

Capitals 2020 first-round pick, Hendrix Lapierre, is currently playing in his rookie professional season with the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League.

Lapierre has tallied many firsts during his rookie season. Saturday, he experienced another one. Lapierre was a healthy scratch for the first time in his Bears career ahead of Hershey’s game against the Charlotte Checkers.

It’s unknown why he was sat.

Lapierre was not listed as a player “unavailable” due to injury, meaning it was a healthy scratch.

Lapierre has only sat one other game previously – a January 25 game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms – due to illness.

At one point this season, Lapierre was the Bears’ leader in both points and goals. He still ranks fifth overall in team scoring as of Saturday with 24 points (10g, 14a) from 47 games, but has cooled off in recent weeks when it comes to scoring. The talented pivot has recorded just seven points (2g, 5a) in 15 games since the calendar flipped into 2023.

It’s possible that Hershey’s head coach Todd Nelson is just hitting the reset button on a young player or giving a veteran player a jersey. But it must also be recognized that a lot of Lapierre’s minutes have been eaten up by the return of Connor McMichael to the AHL in late November. Lapierre has not produced at the same level he was earlier in the fall as he’s now only getting third-line minutes at five-on-five and less power-play action.

With the NHL trade deadline quickly approaching, if the Caps are to be buyers, Lapierre would be one of the major, more attractive pieces that the team has to offer potential sellers.

Headline photo: Tori Hartman/Hershey Bears

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