It was a relatively quiet two-month stretch for Washington Capitals first round draft pick Hendrix Lapierre. He scored his 10th goal of the 2022-23 season on January 14, but then went all of February and most of March without a goal.
That was then and this is now. Lapierre’s two-month scoring drought has not only come to an end, but it looks like he is finally finding his stride and returning to the high level of play he demonstrated at the beginning of the season. The AHL rookie even recorded his first professional hat trick on Saturday night.
“With any young player, you see the peaks and valleys over the course of the season. We talked about consistency. I thought early on in the season, he had to learn some things. He still has to. But he worked on his game. He’s a student of the game,” said Bears head coach Todd Nelson following Saturday night’s 5-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers.
A symbolic “wall” is often encountered at some point during most AHL rookies first season, as we touched up two weeks ago (here). The season starts off fairly well, but somewhere along the way their is a sizable drop-off. Production sinks, injuries occur and overall performance diminishes. Lapierre hit that rookie wall at the start of 2023.
“Around January, February, it looked like he hit a wall. He wasn’t moving his feet like he was around Christmas time,” added Nelson. “And then he got banged up a bit and I think that may have helped out, just to get away from the game and get a mental break and a physical break from the game. Because the way he is skating right now, over the last couple of weeks, has been outstanding. He’s elevated his play, he got rewarded with three goals tonight. That’s great to see.”
THE WALL FALLS
Lapierre’s scoring drought came to an end on March 29 against the Marlies in Toronto. Lapierre had gone 15 games and more than two months without a goal before he slid a rather harmless shot between the legs of Marlies netminder Joseph Woll.
Play Hendrix! Hendrix Lapierre’s first goal since January 14. Bears lead 1-0. #HBH #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/26tUn8EpOd
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) March 29, 2023
It seems like most scoring droughts often come to an end with a bit of good luck. Players return to their top level of play well before the scoring actually returns, but the puck never seems to find the back of the net until a fortunate break occurs and the flood gates open.
Hendrix Lapierre with his 12 of the season (with a little help from T-Birds). Bears lead 1-0. #HBH #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gGC3Cs21m3
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) April 7, 2023
The scoresheet says they were goals and that’s all that matters in the end. The more important thing is that Lapierre’s scoring drought has come to an end and the AHL rookie wall appears to now be in the rear-view mirror.
Hats off for Hendrix! Hendrix Lapierre completes the hat trick in second period with a nice backhander. First career AHL hat trick.#HBH #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/M7E6icfr0S
— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) April 9, 2023
Lapierre now has five goals and an assist in his last six games and is heating up at the most optimal point in the season for the Bears.
STRETCHING THE ENVELOPE
Also on the good news front is the number of games Lapierre has logged this season. We talked about Lapierre’s shortened seasons to date (here). His season high in games played prior to this season was just 54 games.
Lapierre has now played in 58 games this season, the most in his entire hockey career, with three regular season games remaining and the entire postseason ahead for Lapierre and the Bears. He could easily reach as many as 70 games or more, depending on the Bears postseason run.
Things are back on track for #29.
By Jon Sorensen