A Winning Habit
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The Montreal Canadiens could hit the jackpot by drafting Hendrix Lapierre

By Omar L

QUEBEC CITY, QC - OCTOBER 11: Hendrix Lapierre #92 of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens skates prior to his QMJHL hockey game at the Videotron Center on October 11, 2019 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images)
QUEBEC CITY, QC - OCTOBER 11: Hendrix Lapierre #92 of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens skates prior to his QMJHL hockey game at the Videotron Center on October 11, 2019 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
QUEBEC CITY, QC – OCTOBER 11: Montreal Canadiens Hendrix Lapierre (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images) /

Lapierre’s first year made his pending sophomore year with the Saguenèens something to look forward to. Unfortunately, Lapierre was only able to play in 19 games before his season ended due to injuries and the QMJHL ending it’s year early.

As much as scouts and hockey analysts want to focus on Lapierre, the player, injuries always come up in the conversation. Lapierre has had three concussions in almost a year.

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He missed a month of play with a concussion in February of 2019 and had another two in October and November not playing a game since the 21st of the latter month. That’s a massive red flag for any team thinking of selecting him, especially in the first round.

A positive story from all of this, however, was something doctors found in an MRI as his headaches persisted. Lapierre found out that he also had a spinal injury dating back to that first concussion in February of last season. TSN’s Mark Masters’ article on the discovery details a lot, but specialists believed that it wasn’t two additional concussions Lapierre sustained, but instead two instances of re-aggravation forcing him to sit out.

Either way, it was a good discovery for Lapierre, who took time off to strengthen his neck and planned for a March return.

Perhaps that doesn’t change anything, and he continues to fall off the prospect rankings. Lapierre was initially in the conversation of possibly being a top-five draft pick, but with all the injuries, he’s now expected to be taken in the late first round or even early in the second. The Montreal Canadiens should be all over this situation.

I’m not saying they should take Lapierre with their first-round pick. If the NHL decided to proceed with the Draft Lottery without playing any more regular-season games and the Montreal Canadiens didn’t move at all, that pick would be eighth overall. There is a lot more talent to choose from that high in the draft.

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