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Hendrix Lapierre

Hockey Canada Announces 2022 World Junior Championship Roster

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As always, Hockey Canada’s selection camp for the World Junior Championship was a who’s who of top prospects. The group vying for a spot on the 2022 entry was immensely deep and talented, so much so that some truly talented names didn’t even make the camp roster. Of course, this means that some very difficult cuts had to be made as well. With camp wrapping up early Sunday afternoon, Hockey Canada has announced the expected roster for the 2022 WJC:

G Brett Brochu (2022 draft eligible)
G Sebastian Cossa (DET)
G Dylan Garand (NYR)

D Lukas Cormier (VGK)
D Kaiden Guhle (MTL)
D Carson Lambos (MIN)
D Ryan O’Rourke (MIN)
D Owen Power (BUF)
D Donovan Sebrango (DET)
D Ronan Seeley (CAR)
D Olen Zellweger (ANA)

F Connor Bedard (2023 draft eligible)
F Xavier Bourgault (EDM)
F Mavrik Bourque (DAL)
F Will Cuylle (NYR)
F Elliot Desnoyers (PHI)
F Ridly Greig (OTT)
F Dylan Guenther (ARI)
F Kent Johnson (CBJ)
F Mason McTavish (ANA)
F Jake Neighbours (STL)
F Cole Perfetti (WPG)
F Justin Sourdif (FLA)
F Logan Stankoven (DAL)
F Shane Wright (2022 draft eligible)

The camp invitees that did not make the roster include forwards Zach Dean (VGK), William Dufour (NYI), Luke Evangelista (NSH), Jack Finley (TBL), Hendrix Lapierre (WSH), Joshua Roy (MTL), and Ryan Tverberg (TOR) and defensemen Daemon Hunt (MIN) and Vincent Iorio (WSH).

Of note, while many elite drafted prospects will grace the Canadian roster, it’s two undrafted names that will draw substantial spotlight. Wright and Bedard are the presumptive top picks in each of the next two NHL Drafts and will get their shot to further cement that status on the biggest international stage for U20 players.

The 2022 World Junior Championship will be held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta this year. The tournament begins on December 26 and culminates with the gold medal game on January 5.

Hockey Canada Announces 2022 WJC Selection Camp Roster

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The 2022 World Junior Championship is right around the corner, set to kick off on December 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta. For Hockey Canada, selection camp will start in just a few days in Calgary, where the final roster will need to be picked. Today 35 players were invited to that camp, a group that will be pared down to 25 that will travel to the tournament.

The invitees, with their NHL affiliation:

G Brett Brochu (2022 draft eligible)
G Sebastian Cossa (DET)
G Dylan Garand (NYR)

D Lukas Cormier (VGK)
D Kaiden Guhle (MTL)
D Daemon Hunt (MIN)
D Vincent Iorio (WSH)
D Carson Lambos (MIN)
D Ryan O’Rourke (MIN)
D Owen Power (BUF)
D Donovan Sebrango (DET)
D Ronan Seeley (CAR)
D Jack Thompson (TBL)
D Olen Zellweger (ANA)

F Connor Bedard (2023 draft eligible)
F Xavier Bourgault (EDM)
F Mavrik Bourque (DAL)
F Will Cuylle (NYR)
F Zach Dean (VGK)
F Elliot Desnoyers (PHI)
F William Dufour (NYI)
F Luke Evangelista (NSH)
F Jack Finley (TBL)
F Ridly Greig (OTT)
F Dylan Guenther (ARI)
F Kent Johnson (CBJ)
F Hendrix Lapierre (WSH)
F Mason McTavish (ANA)
F Jake Neighbours (STL)
F Cole Perfetti (WPG)
F Joshua Roy (MTL)
F Justin Sourdif (FLA)
F Logan Stankoven (DAL)
F Ryan Tverberg (TOR)
F Shane Wright (2022 draft eligible)

This does look like quite an imposing group, though there are several notable omissions. In addition to Brandt Clarke, who hit the news yesterday, Hockey Canada decided not to bring names like Carter Savoie, Matthew Savoie, and Brennan Othmann, among others. The group does include Bedard, though, who won’t even be eligible for the draft until 2023. The 16-year-old has 11 goals and 17 points in 28 games for the Regina Pats of the WHL after becoming the league’s first player granted exceptional status.

Hendrix Lapierre Returned To Junior

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After six games with the NHL club, Hendrix Lapierre is headed back to junior. The Washington Capitals have assigned the young prospect to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL where he will play the rest of the season. Lapierre was not eligible for the AHL. Because he played less than ten games with the Capitals, he will not burn the first year of his entry-level contract.

Still just 19, Lapierre scored the first goal of his NHL career during his time in Washington and will likely be back with the Capitals next season. For now, he will be able to return to a league that he actually hasn’t played a ton in, due to injury or shortened seasons. Over three years, Lapierre has suited up just 101 times in the Q, all of them coming for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Earlier this summer, Chicoutimi traded him to Acadie-Bathurst, where he’ll now report.

An extremely talented forward, there had been health concerns with Lapierre stemming back to a series of concussions suffered in junior. At least some of those concussions were later diagnosed as a neck issue, and it was the Capitals who ended up taking a risk by selecting him 22nd overall in 2020. That seems to have immediately paid off, with Lapierre making the club out of camp and impressing along the way, though the team will obviously have to closely monitor his health moving forward.

Back in junior, not only should Lapierre dominate the QMJHL, but he’ll also be a top candidate for the Canadian World Junior team. As a 19-year-old who turns 20 in February, this is his last chance to play in the event.

Metropolitan Notes: Lapierre, Hamilton, Komarov

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With Capitals center Hendrix Lapierre averaging only nine minutes per game in his first five NHL appearances, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he’s returned back to junior.  He has been scratched in five other games to buy them some more time to make the decision, one that GM Brian MacLellan acknowledged to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription link) should be coming soon:

We’re going to do what’s best for him development-wise. He’s done a great job up until this point. Everything he’s done has benefited his growth — off-ice workouts, being around the guys, practicing with the big club.

But at some point here, we’re going to make a decision on what’s going to be best for him moving forward, to grow his game.

Lapierre can play in four more NHL games before officially burning the first year of his entry-level deal and MacLellan admitted that the cap element – in particular, having another cheap season from him – will also play a factor in their decision.  At this point, it feels like the Capitals returning him to the QMJHL is a matter of when, not if.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • Prior to Dougie Hamilton leaving in free agency, Carolina GM Don Waddell felt that there was some progress on a new deal that would have stopped him from reaching the open market. However, the defenseman didn’t feel the same way, telling ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that he never felt that he was wanted.  He certainly got that feeling from the Devils, who signed him to a seven-year, $63MM contract on the opening day of free agency and he has done well so far, collecting six points in eight games while averaging 21:59 per contest.
  • Islanders winger Leo Komarov has yet to report to Bridgeport despite clearing waivers and being assigned more than two weeks ago, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. However, GM Lou Lamoriello indicated that the veteran is rehabbing a minor injury and will report soon once that has cleared.  Players generally aren’t permitted to be waived when they’re injured although since Komarov is still collecting his full salary (without escrow now that he has been sent down), it shouldn’t be much of a concern for him.

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