Connor McMichael - The real deal or hot start?

Nogatco Rd

Pierre-Luc Dubas
Apr 3, 2021
2,853
5,355
Would have been funnier if he made the "we have Connor McMichael at home" comment.

Edit: How has Hendrix Lapierre been? I remember him being a faller.
He was the AHL playoff MVP last year and hopes were high going into this season but he had an uneven camp and has been quiet so far. I think he’ll be fine though.

I wouldn’t be surprised if either him or McMichael gets traded for the right package though as the caps have a bit of a logjam at center.
 
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Drake1588

UNATCO
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Jul 2, 2002
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Edit: How has Hendrix Lapierre been? I remember him being a faller.
He's been slowly developing. Time in Hershey did him good. He won the Calder Cup MVP en route to their B2B championship in the AHL last summer. I tried to watch him live a couple of nights back. He was steady, if unspectacular. That might be the part of his game they want him working on, though. That third line has chemistry and identity issues it's still working through, but he was solid enough. The line isn't relied on to pitch in a ton of offense, and his current role is not matched to his skill set terribly well. As injuries come, I expect he'll get chances in the top six.

Fully two lines are hot right now. It's not easy to develop line chemistry with only two lines and the bench to work with, but Carbery isn't going to mess with what the Dubois and Dowd lines have cooking at present. He's leaving those intact. The coaches are shuffling the first and third line personnel around to find fits.

With the veteran fourth line playing so well, that also means the personnel on the third line rotates out of the lineup to give players playing time. Lapierre isn't so well situated as to be guaranteed of playing 82 games yet.
 
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Random schmoe

Random fan with their own opinions
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Feb 13, 2019
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Drake and others have made many of the same points that came to my mind. But just to reinforce a few things ...

-His first 3 years post draft (he played 1 game in the NHL in his D+1 year) were under Laviolette, who has a long reputation for not handling young players/prospects well. I don't have the facts to know if that rep is deserved or not, but it might be a part. Carbery, as a long-time AHL coach, seems to handle young guys pretty well.

-There were prospect analysts who always thought McMichael would be a better wing than center in the NHL. He's always had good goal scoring ability. Part of his success so far could simply be that he's been put in the best position to succeed.
 

Lucas Hood

Registered User
Nov 2, 2024
36
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Having Dubois and Wilson on his line is helping him a lot, who knew having 2 fast skating physical 6'4 players can open things up.

He has acclimated to NHL pace and his timing is also on point, reminds me of when Kuznetsov suddenly realized how much time and space he really had in the NHL with his skill level and and exploded into a top line player.
 

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