C Hendrix Lapierre - (2020, 22nd, WSH)

[HellFish89]

Agree, this guy is criminally underrated, he's gonna be Canada's best player at the Hlinka imo

 

[landy92mack29]

He's likely going to get the biggest bump from the Hlinka and well deserved. IMO no one is going to challenge Lafreniere but it'll be a very entertaining battle for 2nd best forward between him, Byfield, Perfetti, Raymond, Lundell and Holtz

 

[Kevin Musto]

IMO no one is going to challenge Lafreniere

I disagree. At this point in time, Lafreniere isn't a lock for 1st.

 

[Daximus]

Love this kids game. He's really starting to rise for me and I'll be paying much closer attention to his season in the Q.

 

[Dodospice]

I disagree. At this point in time, Lafreniere isn't a lock for 1st.

There’s never any lock for 1st overall. No matter how great the prospect, there is always people and noise that someone else is better. While I don’t disagree that he’s not a lock, you can’t call any prospect a lock for 1st overall, 10 months out from their draft.

 

[Kevin Musto]

There’s never any lock for 1st overall. No matter how great the prospect, there is always people and noise that someone else is better. While I don’t disagree that he’s not a lock, you can’t call any prospect a lock for 1st overall, 10 months out from their draft.

McDavid was a lock. Matthews was a lock. Dahlin was a lock. Hughes was a lock. Anyone who said otherwise was just doing it for the sake of being different.

 

[Dodospice]

McDavid was a lock. Matthews was a lock. Dahlin was a lock. Hughes was a lock. Anyone who said otherwise was just doing it for the sake of being different.

It’s easy to say they’re locks and I agree that McDavid and Dahlin were locks but there was people that honestly believed Eichel would be better then McDavid (I don’t know why), Dahlin really had no challengers but if he shit the bed in his draft season he wasn’t going to go 1st, hence why I don’t believe you can really call any prospect a lock this far out, as so much can and does happen... Matthews though was not a lock. The Laine conversation about him being better was very real and justified, now once the Leafs won the lottery it was a lock that Matthews was going #1 but up until that point, you could make the argument that Laine might have been the guy to take.

 

[wetcoast]

He's likely going to get the biggest bump from the Hlinka and well deserved. IMO no one is going to challenge Lafreniere but it'll be a very entertaining battle for 2nd best forward between him, Byfield, Perfetti, Raymond, Lundell and Holtz

Byfield has a real chance to be #1 being a huge center and his overall skillset.

His push will be alot greater than Kakko last year.

That being said Hendrix is going to be a great player and I would have him a solid 3rd right now.

He looks like he could be a Bergeron type of impact player out there.

 

[wetcoast]

This thread needs a bump or merge.

He is having an outstanding Hlinka.

 

[HockeyDBspecialist]

Lafreniere vs. Lapierre. Battle of the "La's".

In all serious, I can see this guy going in the top 15 of the 2020 draft if he continues to grow a few centimeters and grow as a player.

La-Barre	Labarre-Genest	Labat	Labattaglia
Labatte	Labauve	Labbe	Labbe
Labbe	L-Abbe	Labbee	L-Abbee
Labe	Labeaume	Label	Labelle
Laberee	Laberge	Labillois	Labine
Labissonniere	Laboissiere	Laboissonniere	Labombarde
Labonne	Labonte	Labonte-Vegiard	Labonville
Laborde	Labossiere	Laboucan	Laboucane
Labourliere-Laplante	Laboursodiere	Labranche	Labranche-Laforest
Labre	Labrec	Labreche	Labreche
Labreche-Deziel	Labrecque	Labreque	Labrie
Labrie	Labrie-Naud	Labrosse	Labrosse
Labrosse-Raymond	Labry	Lacaillade	Lacaille
Lacarte	Lacas	Lacasse	Lacelle
Lacerte	Lacey	Lachaine	Lachaine-Jolicoeur
Lachaise	Lachambre	Lachance	Lachance
Lachance-Pepin	Lachapelle	Lachapelle	Lachapelle-Jeannot
Lachapelle-Jeannotte	Lachapelle-Langlois	Lacharite	Lacharite
Lacharite-Lampron	Lacharity	Lachaume	Lachevrotiere
Lackie	Lacombe	Lacoste	Lacoste-Languedoc
Lacouline	Lacour	Lacourciere	Lacourse
Lacoursiere	Lacouture	Lacouvee	Lacroix
Lacroix	Lacroix-Corbin	Lacroix-Langevin	Lacy
Ladd	Ladebauche	Laderoute	Ladouceur
Ladouceur-Lamadeleine	Ladouceur-Martin	Ladrie	Ladriere
Ladriere-Flamand	Ladurantaye	Lafaille	Lafantaisie
Lafarge	Lafave	Lafayette	Laferiere
Laferriere	Laferte	Lafetiere	Lafeuille
Lafferty	Laffin	Laflamme	Laflamme
Lafleche	Lafleur	Lafleur-Poupart	Laflotte
Lafolley	Lafon	Lafond	Lafont
Lafontaine	Laforce	Laforest	Laforest-Labranche
Laforet	Laforet-Labranche	Laforge	Laforme
Laforte	Lafortune	Lafortune-Tellier	Lafosse
Lafournaise	Laframboise	Lafrance	Lafrance
La-France	Lafrance-Pinel	Lafranchise	Lafrenaye
Lafreniere	Lafresnaye	Lafresniere	Lafricain
L-Africain	Lagace	Lagace	Lagace-Lagasse
Lagace-Meunier	Lagace-Mignier	Laganiere	Lagarde
Lagarde-Potvin	Lagarde-St-Jean	Lagasse	Lagesse
Lagimodiere	Lagimoniere	Lagloire	Lagotte
Lagrandeur	Lagrange	Lagrave	Lagrenade
Lagrois	Lagroix	Lague	Laguerre
Lagueux	Lagueux	Lagueux-Charpentier	Lahaie
Lahaise	Lahaye	La-Haye	Lahey
Lahoud	Laine	Laine	Laine-Laliberte
Laines-Laliberte	Lainesse	Lainesse-Laliberte	Lainey
Laing	Lair	Laird	Laisne
Laitre	Lajambe	Lajeunesse	Lajoie

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

We have a bunch of "LA" possible name in Quebec, even there there's a bunch missing

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think certain players are occasionally locks for 1OA due to circumstances other than who is the best prospect in the draft. I think a few recent drafts have shown that.

I don’t think that applies to Lafreniere. I think he could definitely be overtaken for 1OA. He’s probably the favorite for 1OA, but I think this draft is wide open at the top. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are five names in contention for 1OA the last month or two. I think it’s going to be that close.

 

[Intangir]

Hendrix Lapierre and Cole Perfetti are ripping the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup apart playing together. I swear, the ice is so tilted in Canada's favor when they're on the ice that they make the opposing players look like Midget B pylons.

The game against Switzerland was my first viewing of Lapierre taken for the specific task of evaluating him, and he's definitely gonna be one of the players I'll watch out for the most this upcoming draft year and already one of my favorite prospects. Taken on his own, Lapierre shows intensity, wins puck battles like it's nobody's business, threads (and lifts) passes that are not only flat on the ice but put in very good spots to get a shot off, plays a non-nonsense and effective game, positions himself extremely well, possesses a fast and accurate wrist shot that he gets off really quickly, shows some really good speed, agility, edge work, acceleration, his skating mechanics are really strong, he knows how to get out of harm's way and how to brace successfully against contact, is extremely aware of what's going on on the ice and where players are, and he flashes high-end skill all the time to boot. Seriously, people shouldn't sleep on this kid as I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to solidify a top 5 spot for himself. It might only be August, but let the hype flow through you.

On a sidenote, I know it is only a very small sample size, but Byfield hasn't impressed me nearly as much as these two. He's still really good and you can see the massive physical potential and amazing tools this guy has, plus a pretty good hockey IQ, but he's getting massively outplayed by them right now.

 

[GoBoltz56]

Does anyone know why he only played 40 something games last year?

 

[BKarchitect]

This kid is a beauty. And while both he and Perfetti are spectacular, I think Lapierre is the safer projection at the next level as of now.

Love to see the Q come roaring back to life with a potentially epic draft class...looks like four guys with the tools to be lottery level picks in Laf, Lap, Barron and Poirier. Of course the OHL is a sick crop this year too.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Does anyone know why he only played 40 something games last year?

broken wrist I believe. I think he went like 8 games straight without a point upon returning too so if you take that into consideration his pts/game could have been even bettee

 

[Wintersun]

broken wrist I believe. I think he went like 8 games straight without a point upon returning too so if you take that into consideration his pts/game could have been even bettee

Actually think it was the knee. And he had a concussion at the end of the season but came back for the playoffs and dominated.

Think if he had been healthy all year he'd have hit 70 points.

EDIT : First injury was elbow.

 

[93LEAFS]

I think certain players are occasionally locks for 1OA due to circumstances other than who is the best prospect in the draft. I think a few recent drafts have shown that.

I don’t think that applies to Lafreniere. I think he could definitely be overtaken for 1OA. He’s probably the favorite for 1OA, but I think this draft is wide open at the top. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are five names in contention for 1OA the last month or two. I think it’s going to be that close.

I don't think there is much evidence of the best prospects not going 1. I mean, in retrospect you can argue Hischier/Pettersson, and Pettersson should have been held in higher regards. But, Matthews, McDavid, MacKinnon and Dahlin were the best prospects in their draft, and have played like it. 2014 never had a clear #1, and 2012 was a mess. Hughes was clearly worthy of going 1OA, it may have been closer than this site claimed, but he was worthy of it. It's not like Kakko was a clear tier above.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Actually think it was the knee. And he had a concussion at the end of the season but came back for the playoffs and dominated.

Think if he had been healthy all year he'd have hit 70 points.

EDIT : First injury was elbow.

yea I was pretty sure it wasnt a leg injury, John Moore has a video when the Sags went to SJ on him where his coach talks about the only thing that slowed him down was his injury and how it affected him when he returned - but aside from that stretch he was a star in the league from day 1

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don't think there is much evidence of the best prospects not going 1. I mean, in retrospect you can argue Hischier/Pettersson, and Pettersson should have been held in higher regards. But, Matthews, McDavid, MacKinnon and Dahlin were the best prospects in their draft, and have played like it. 2014 never had a clear #1, and 2012 was a mess. Hughes was clearly worthy of going 1OA, it may have been closer than this site claimed, but he was worthy of it. It's not like Kakko was a clear tier above.

We are talking pre-draft, not post draft. I think 2016 and 2019 are two drafts where that happened. I think 2017 was a draft where most teams whiffed. There might’ve been some unintentional bias against Pettersson being a Euro playing in Europe with skating and physique concerns, along with most of his best play coming in league play instead of international play, but I think NHL teams will admit they got that one wrong in retrospect.

I think 2017 was a situation where Matthews/Laine would’ve been a toss up if the hype and nationality factors were equalized, but they weren’t. Matthews was hyped for years as the next American star. That certainly plays a role. This was also at a time where Finland hadn’t yet been as established in producing players as the reputation they’ve started to gain in the last few years. I’m not stating Laine would’ve definitely went 1OA. I think it would’ve been very close, but it wasn’t and that was with Laine having an excellent draft season.

I think 2019 is also a draft where Hughes had built up enough hype that he was going 1OA barring character concerns or injury concerns. He didn’t have that good of a draft season. It’s not even clear he was the best NTDP player this season. Kakko also has a tremendous draft season, as well, yet Hughes still went first.

I think certain players build up enough of a reputation that there’s going to be a big reaction if a team decides against picking them first. That alone is going to bring added scrutiny to the pick, and I don’t think a lot of GM’s think the cost/benefit analysis there makes sense. If Hughes ends up a top 3-4 player in this draft and none of the top few players are generational level NHL’ers, there’s not going to be much pushback on the pick. Let’s say Shero wanted to pick Dach first, his job is on the line if he doesn’t get that selection right.

 

[93LEAFS]

We are talking pre-draft, not post draft. I think 2016 and 2019 are two drafts where that happened. I think 2017 was a draft where most teams whiffed. There might’ve been some unintentional bias against Pettersson being a Euro playing in Europe with skating and physique concerns, along with most of his best play coming in league play instead of international play, but I think NHL teams will admit they got that one wrong in retrospect.

I think 2017 was a situation where Matthews/Laine would’ve been a toss up if the hype and nationality factors were equalized, but they weren’t. Matthews was hyped for years as the next American star. That certainly plays a role. This was also at a time where Finland hadn’t yet been as established in producing players as the reputation they’ve started to gain in the last few years. I’m not stating Laine would’ve definitely went 1OA. I think it would’ve been very close, but it wasn’t and that was with Laine having an excellent draft season.

I think 2019 is also a draft where Hughes had built up enough hype that he was going 1OA barring character concerns or injury concerns. He didn’t have that good of a draft season. It’s not even clear he was the best NTDP player this season. Kakko also has a tremendous draft season, as well, yet Hughes still went first.

I think certain players build up enough of a reputation that there’s going to be a big reaction if a team decides against picking them first. That alone is going to bring added scrutiny to the pick, and I don’t think a lot of GM’s think the cost/benefit analysis there makes sense. If Hughes ends up a top 3-4 player in this draft and none of the top few players are generational level NHL’ers, there’s not going to be much pushback on the pick. Let’s say Shero wanted to pick Dach first, his job is on the line if he doesn’t get that selection right.

I think you are and were overvaluing Laine. He played the less valuable position and was always insanely reliant on his line mates to generate chances. Matthews was the way better 5v5 player who could generate goals regardless of his line mates. Which has carried over to their NHL careers. I mean, Matthews had a track record advantage, but that’s not the only or primary reason he went 1st.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think you are and were overvaluing Laine. He played the less valuable position and was always insanely reliant on his line mates to generate chances. Matthews was the way better 5v5 player who could generate goals regardless of his line mates. Which has carried over to their NHL careers. I mean, Matthews had a track record advantage, but that’s not the only or primary reason he went 1st.

Position factors in, and that’s probably why Matthews would’ve went 1OA, but I think the value of Laine’s best skill is enough to cancel the positional factors out. I think if you are getting a generational goal scorer, you take that player 1OA, barring a McDavid caliber prospect being available. I also think you are making too much of who is reliant on who in minor league hockey. I highly doubt that was part of the considerations for why Matthews went first.

And whether Laine goes first or second is near irrelevant. He wasn’t in contention for that pick and he should’ve been. That’s the whole point.

 

[93LEAFS]

Position factors in, and that’s probably why Matthews would’ve went 1OA, but I think the value of Laine’s best skill is enough to cancel the positional factors out. I think if you are getting a generational goal scorer, you take that player 1OA, barring a McDavid caliber prospect being available. I also think you are making too much of who is reliant on who in minor league hockey. I highly doubt that was part of the considerations for why Matthews went first.

And whether Laine goes first or second is near irrelevant. He wasn’t in contention for that pick and he should’ve been. That’s the whole point.

I disagree with contention that Laine should have been closer and Matthews has shown to be as good if not a better goal scorer since (i mean he has 1 more goal in less games). I think Matthews ability to drive play was a huge factor. The ability to drive play is always a factor and always in evaluations. I think it’s just a difference between how you personally evaluate prospects rather than how the scouts did.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I disagree with contention that Laine should have been closer and Matthews has shown to be as good if not a better goal scorer since (i mean he has 1 more goal in less games). I think Matthews ability to drive play was a huge factor. The ability to drive play is always a factor and always in evaluations. I think it’s just a difference between how you personally evaluate prospects rather than how the scouts did.

You keep saying this is about me, and I think you’ve made this point before. Plenty of people agreed with me. And Ovechkin never drove play on his line to the level that Mallon does, yet he went first.

 

[93LEAFS]

You keep saying this is about me, and I think you’ve made this point before. Plenty of people agreed with me. And Ovechkin never drove play on his line to the level that Mallon does, yet he went first.

Ovi clearly drives play due to his skating and shot generation. Maybe not as well as Malkin, but he’s never been reliant on his Center the way Laine always has.

 

[CH4]

Actually think it was the knee. And he had a concussion at the end of the season but came back for the playoffs and dominated.

Think if he had been healthy all year he'd have hit 70 points.

EDIT : First injury was elbow.

It was shoulder, was hard when he came back, then found his game again.

No player has been as dominant as a 16yo here since pierre marc Bouchard.

It’s hard to find flaws in his game