Photo: Hartford Wolf Pack

Washington Capitals forward prospect Hendrix Lapierre has quickly settled in for his rookie season in the American Hockey League (AHL), recording four goals and eight assists in his first 17 career AHL games. While his start has been impressive, Lapierre knows he needs to continue to work hard to get back to Washington.

“I wasn’t too happy with my camp with the Capitals, so I kinda came in with a knife between my teeth at Hershey. I try not to think too much about the possibility of an NHL recall, I don’t want to burn any negative energy,” Lapierre recently told Ledroit [via Google Translation].

“For sure, I think about it on occasion and every time I go to the arena, it motivates me to work hard to get a recall eventually. The goal of playing in the NHL, I have even bigger aspirations. But in the meantime, I’m learning in the American League.”

Lapierre said he’s working on the “little things” in his game while in Hershey, particularly on the defensive side of the game.

“Here I’m working on a mix of a lot of little things, whether it’s my consistency, my physical level, winning more battles, more face-offs. Playing a full long season without having interruptions, Covid, camp, or whatever would be fine. It’s about working on the little details, especially defensively, to be a player you can count on in the NHL.”

Lapierre is living truly on his own for the first time in his life. In Hershey, Lapierre shares a rental house with two other rookies, Vincent Iorio and Henrik Rybinski.

“We have a lot of fun together, I’m learning the pro life at the same time as these guys. It makes you grow as a human being to make your food, to take care of a house. It’s a completely different way of life.”

Lapierre has also been taken under the wing of fellow Quebec native and Bears goaltender Zach Fucale.

“He (Fucale) helps me a lot, he takes care of me. He’s someone I respect, he’s had a lot of success everywhere he’s gone.”

Lapierre said he is partners with Fucale for a team in “franchise” mode on the Xbox console. The two general managers are trying to win a Stanley Cup with a team they moved to Quebec.

“We have fun with it in our free time.”

In other free time, Lapierre recently explored “Chocolate City” a bit with his visiting  girlfriend.

“We went to the factory (Hershey chocolates), it’s pretty cool, you can choose your ingredients and they make your own chocolate in front of you. Sometimes at the beginning of the week, when the factory is working at full capacity, it smells of chocolate in the city. But I don’t abuse it too much (chocolate),“ he laughed.

The Bears are back in action Saturday night for the second game of a two-game set against the Wolf Pack in Hartford. Puck drop is set for 7PM.

Full interview here.

By Jon Sorensen