The Washington Capitals’ 23-year-old center Hendrix Lapierre has made the opening night roster out of training camp and is looking to take up permanent residence in the capital city this season. The highly-skilled Gatineau, Quebec native looks to have pushed Connor McMichael from his third-line center role back to the wing on the second line.
Lapierre has a lot to prove this season. Last year, he made the Capitals’ opening night roster, even after an unimpressive training camp, and he followed it up with a disappointing first half of the season. The Capitals kept him on until right before the holiday break in December, when former Capital Lars Eller took his place. This season, Lapierre is playing on a one-year contract and is no longer waiver-exempt. For the time being, it looks like he’s won his spot back on the big club, but now he has to keep it.
A Risky Draft Selection
Lapierre was selected 22nd overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to his draft year, he was regarded as a “top-ten talent” but slipped in the draft rankings due to three concussions suffered over a 10-month period. After his third concussion sidelined him for the majority of the 2019-20 season, Lapierre was diagnosed with a craniocervical traumatic injury that mirrors concussion symptoms, for which he received treatment in the spring of 2020.
To acquire Lapierre, the Capitals traded their 24th and 80th overall picks to the Calgary Flames to move up in the draft order. Largely considered a risky pick, the Capitals had Lapierre on their radar for some time and were willing to take the chance on the crafty centerman.
“I know he’s had a rough year with injuries,” former Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan told Tarik El-Bashir of The Atlantic. “We’ve had our doctors (and) our trainer check him out as we went through the whole draft process. There probably is a little risk there. But I thought at our pick, where we were at, the upside just made up for it. He’s a skilled player (with the) potential to be a top-six centerman. He has real good character, a real good personality. There are a lot of positives about the player. We’re excited we were able to get him and I guess it is just the upside with the risk just makes sense for us” (from ‘Henrik Lundqvist buzz heats up; Caps first-rounder Hendrix Lapierre’s ‘upside,’ The Athletic, 10/7/20).
Back and Forth to Hershey
After his first NHL training camp at the start of the 2021-22 season, Lapierre played six games with the Capitals before returning for his final year of junior hockey in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The next season, he was assigned to the Capitals’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears, at the completion of camp. In his first professional campaign, he recorded 30 points in 60 games and helped the Bears capture their 12th Calder Cup title, scoring the game-tying goal in the seventh game of the Final.
In the 2023-24 season, Lapierre started the season in Hershey but was called up on a number of occasions to join the big club, recording 22 points in 51 games with the Capitals. He was reassigned to Hershey for their playoff run where he collected 22 points in 20 games as the Bears once again hoisted the Calder Cup. Lapierre was named playoff MVP as he led all players in scoring.
In the 2024-25 season, Lapierre appeared in the first 27 games for the Capitals, winning a spot out of training camp, but he only recorded eight assists before being assigned to Hershey for the remainder of the year. The Capitals were not impressed with his lackluster performance and ended up getting Eller to fill his spot. Lapierre was a point-per-game player for the AHL club for the remainder of the season before their quest for a third championship was halted by the Charlotte Checkers in the division finals. In July 2025, he signed a one-year contract with the Capitals for $850,000.
Related: Hendrix Lapierre – 2020 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
Lapierre spent the summer working on his game at Amped Hockey in Ottawa, and the results seem to be speaking for themselves. He looks quicker, grittier, and more determined to make the team this year. He’s clearly not taking anything for granted. “I put in a lot of work in the summer,” Lapierre told Sammi Silber at The Hockey News. “I’d say mentally, it’s the best I felt just knowing I have one goal in mind and I’ve said that to you before. Everything that I’ve done since Sept. 15 has been to make this team.”
Preseason Success
Lapierre has come back strong to start the 2025-26 season, racking up seven points in his four preseason games with the Capitals, including two three-point nights.
“He had a good camp. You can tell he looks a little quicker, there’s some jump there,” said Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery. “He’s trying to really focus on being as hard as he possibly can on faceoffs, on low battles, on the net front, getting to the net when it’s his turn to do that and also being able to use his speed and creativity and all the offensive tools we know he has.”
Lapierre’s exceptional play has forced the Capitals coaching staff to reconsider Connor McMichael’s presumed place as the team’s third center. McMichael had his breakthrough season in 2024-25, scoring 26 goals and 57 points playing the wing. Lapierre’s success has worked out well for both players, with McMichael playing on the second line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson (who he had great success with last season) and Lapierre centering Anthony Beauvillier and Ryan Leonard.
Lapierre had tough competition at camp this season, with several players on a mission to prove themselves. Sonny Milano, who missed almost all of last season due to injury, is entering the final year of his three-year contract. He made the team, but was a healthy scratch for the opener against the Boston Bruins. Ivan Miroshnichenko was hoping to crack the lineup this year, but was sent back to Hershey at the end of the preseason. So too did rookie Andrew Cristall, who, despite a strong showing at camp the last two years, failed to make the team.
Lapierre will need to play consistently well to keep his position with the Capitals this season. With a lot of talent in Hershey just waiting for an opportunity, he’ll need to maintain the mental strength and determination he’s demonstrated these last weeks all season long.