Capitals: Pierre-Luc Dubois finally feels in the right chair

Pierre-Luc Dubois didn’t take long to acclimatize to his new environment.

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After a more timid start to the season offensively, the 26-year-old center is slowly starting to feel more comfortable with the Washington Capitals, so he’s on track to have his most productive season of his career.

“I’m a little more in my chair, I’m a little more comfortable,” said Dubois a few hours before facing the Montreal Canadiens. When you’re in an organization that communicates with you like anyone else, it makes my job a lot simpler.”

After 41 games, Dubois has already scored 33 points. If he keeps up the pace, he would finish the season with 66 points, three more than his personal high.

Can we say that the real Pierre-Luc Dubois has “arrived”? The main person believes that he still has a lot to learn, but he has found the pleasure of playing hockey again.

“I think everyone gets there at different times. You have players like [Auston] Matthews who has 50 goals since he was 18. There isn’t really an ideal path to get there, it’s just that you have to get there one day, confided the Quebecer.

“I continue to have fun, I continue to work hard, to learn as much as I can. I wouldn’t say that I’m finally a player that I wanted to be, I think it’s just to continue to always learn.

An extraordinary season

Despite his excellent performance, Dubois doesn’t worry too much about statistics. The important thing for him is to help his team win matches.

“Everyone is pushing in the same direction. Everyone here wants to win. We have a very good season to date, but we know that there is still a lot of hockey to play,” added the player from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.

He is right that the team is having a very good season so far. The team from the American capital surprised everyone in the first half of the calendar by taking the lead in the Eastern Conference standings after 41 games. The team also has the second-best goal differential in the National Hockey League (NHL) at +41.

Not bad for a team that narrowly made the playoffs last year, before being swept by the New York Rangers in the first round.

Advice for Slafkovsky

Over the years, Dubois has learned to manage the expectations placed on a high draft pick.

He is therefore well placed to understand the ups and downs experienced by Juraj Slafkovsky of the Canadiens in his third season in the NHL.

“A lot of times players who have good rookie years, the second year is a little tougher because the expectations change. Sometimes, it’s a good second season, the third, they are confident, but expectations change, expectations are even higher,” argued the Quebecer.

“It’s more about the details than the points. It’s not always easy. When you have expectations of yourself, your teammates have expectations, your coach knows it, there are expectations. It’s not always easy, especially for a young player,” he added, specifying that the help of a good veteran is often beneficial for a young player.