Hendrix Lapierre collected a drop pass from T.J. Oshie and fired the puck toward the net as he fell to the ice. The next instant, the rookie barreled into the end boards, the sellout crowd at Capital One Arena erupted, and Oshie rushed to join him.
It was Lapierre’s first NHL goal, and he scored it in front of family and friends. It happened on home ice during his NHL debut. And it came after a highlight-reel assist from the new teammate who helps him the most.
“Osh is a tremendous teammate. He’s been good for me,” Lapierre said. “I have a lot of questions all the time, but he’s been answering them, and … when I [got] that puck, I knew it was coming. That celebration, too, after Osh put me in his arms, it was pretty special. Just a great, great moment and a good first night, too. It means a lot.”
Lapierre quickly latched on to Oshie as a mentor when he arrived at training camp. The Capitals’ first-round draft pick in 2020 peppered Oshie with questions, wanting to learn more from his linemate.
Lapierre is a visual learner, he said, so he likes when things are demonstrated or he can study video. That’s why watching Oshie during practice and trying to mimic his skills — such as deflection goals in front of the net — help Lapierre learn best. Oshie can be clever and creative in practice. A right-handed shot, he sometimes will fire the puck with his left hand. He will try different angles and won’t stick to traditional routines.
Earlier this month, Oshie had a textbook deflection goal during the Capitals’ preseason game at Boston. At the next practice, Lapierre stayed on the ice late with Oshie, working on the same play.
“I feel like if I can do what Osh does — and hopefully he doesn’t find that I’m annoying just following him around and seeing what he does — that on a daily basis maybe I can be as good as him,” Lapierre said. “And those kind of things, they can help me on the ice.”
As Lapierre continues to learn from Oshie, there is a group of kids learning from him, too.
Lapierre grew up in Gatineau, Quebec, a community near Ottawa where he is seen as a role model, said Gregoire Meguerditchian, the vice president of Lapierre’s minor hockey association. Meguerditchian said it was evident early on that Lapierre had the skills to get to the NHL. He was never a showoff, though.
As Lapierre started to play at the junior level, kids would run up to him before and after games, wanting to take pictures with him whenever he would come back to the region.
“Hendrix kept a lot of roots with his friends here, playing tennis in the offseason, [and in the] winter they went on the lake to play ice hockey,” said Meguerditchian, whose son is close friends with Lapierre. “There’s a lot of recent good memories with the kids here in the regional community.”
Lapierre takes time to help the Gatineau youth. Two days before he left for Washington, he practiced twice with the team of his Midget AAA coach. He was trying to save his energy ahead of Capitals training camp, but to no one’s surprise he went full speed.
“When other players look at him, they will see how much he loves the game, how passionate he is,” said Martin Lafleur, Lapierre’s Midget AAA coach. “He’s the first one on the ice. It’s contagious, that happiness and love for the game. It’s so impressive.”
Lapierre’s breakout game Wednesday did come with some caveats.
The rookie won the third-line center job with Nicklas Backstrom on long-term injured reserve to start the season. When Backstrom returns — he will be sidelined for at least 10 games — there may not be room in the lineup for Lapierre, meaning he might be heading back to his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team. For now, Lapierre plans on relishing the moment.
“I was just super excited for him,” said Oshie, who called Lapierre “just an all-around good kid to be around.”
Capitals add a defenseman
The Capitals claimed defenseman Dennis Cholowski off waivers from the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Detroit in the 2016 draft who went to Seattle in July’s expansion draft. The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder had one goal and two assists in 16 games for the Red Wings last season.
To make room for Cholowski on the roster, the Capitals sent forward Beck Malenstyn, 23, to Hershey of the American Hockey League.
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