But the odds will be stacked even higher against Lapierre than they were last season, when he surprised many by making the Capitals roster as a 19-year-old and playing six games for the Capitals before being assigned to Acadie-Bathurst of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Unlike last season, Washington has brought in help, signing Dylan Strome to a one-year, $3.5 million contract July 14, to supplement a center group that already included Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, Connor McMichael and Nic Dowd. That might leave Lapierre, the No. 22 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, to play with Hershey of the American Hockey League, but he said he knew that was a possibility before Strome signed.
"Obviously, I want to make the Washington Capitals is my objective and, I think if I have a camp like last year, I'll put the odds on my side," Lapierre said during their development camp last week. "If I have to play in Hershey or whatever, I'll just be ready for whatever I need to do. I'll arrive at camp and I'll be ready and whatever happens, happens."
Last season was a roller coaster for Lapierre, peaking with making the Capitals in training camp and scoring his first NHL goal (and only point) in their season opener against the New York Rangers and bottoming when he was sent back to the QMJHL and was not selected to play for Canada at the 2022 World Junior Championship. The Gatineau, Quebec, native had a solid season with Acadie-Bathurst, with 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 40 regular-season games and 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in eight playoff games, but acknowledged he was inconsistent.
"At the start, it was very hard," Lapierre said. "I was very, very happy to be here and then when I got sent down, I thought it wasn't going to hit me too much, but once I got sent down, I missed the time here. So, I had an up-and-down season … but I think in general, I came out stronger than when I arrived."
Lapierre said he has worked this offseason on adding strength to be able to better compete against established NHL players and said he is up to 185 pounds after being listed at 6-feet, 180 pounds last season. He can learn from his experience playing against NHL players at the start of last season and take confidence from that.
Ultimately, starting this season with Hershey might be best for Lapierre. Now 20, he'll try to make that decision a difficult one.
"Some of the veterans that he was able to spend some time with (last season), that's a huge benefit going into camp too," Hershey coach Scott Allen said. "He should be ahead of the game now in regards to that. But it still falls on his shoulders in regards to what he's capable of doing and where he can fit in."
