by Connor Lawrence | AHL On The Beat
It was a late November night when the straightforward query was posed to Lehigh Valley Phantoms ahead Alexis Gendron.
“When do you know you needed to play skilled hockey?”
“I at all times simply sort of knew,” defined the speedy 20-year-old Philadelphia Flyers prospect with amusing, whereas talking to a gaggle of youth hockey gamers.
Sharing tales of his profession, Gendron mirrored on his personal expertise rising up within the sport and one of many individuals he credit with making ready him probably the most: his father. Because the son of Martin Gendron – present Quebec-based newbie scout for the Flyers and former AHL All-Star winger – Alexis noticed his love for the sport sparked from a younger age.
“I at all times regarded as much as him as a hockey participant and as a father, after all,” mentioned Alexis. “He performed the sport the identical approach I do. He was an offensive ahead – a small ahead, too. He confirmed me methods to shoot the puck after I was younger, at all times telling me to shoot arduous.”
Now in his first full skilled season with the Phantoms, Gendron nonetheless vividly remembers the numerous hours he spent perfecting his shot within the driveway together with his father by his facet.
“He performed a giant position in my profession, for certain,” Gendron mentioned.
Raised in Côteau-du-Lac, Quebec, however born in Switzerland whereas Martin was taking part in abroad, Alexis developed a love for hockey early on as he watched his father, hoping to someday comply with in his footsteps.
By the point he reached junior hockey at 16, he started to imagine an expert profession of his personal was inside attain.
“I didn’t anticipate to make the group,” Gendron recalled of his first yr with Blainville-Boisbriand within the QMJHL. “It was sort of a shock, nevertheless it made me notice it may occur. I simply needed to maintain working. Two years after that, I bought drafted by the Flyers.”
After racking up 60 factors in his first two junior seasons, the arduous work lastly paid off on July 8, 2022, when Philadelphia chosen him within the seventh spherical of the NHL Draft in Montreal – simply an hour away from his hometown.
The second got here full-circle, because it additionally meant he could be partially reunited together with his childhood hero, now working in the identical group – his father.
However the journey into the skilled recreation over the previous yr wasn’t essentially as easy for the youthful Gendron, who skilled – and overcame – his fair proportion of setbacks en path to incomes a gentle roster spot in Lehigh Valley.
After making his skilled debut with the Phantoms at first of final season, recording seven factors in 17 video games, Gendron quickly discovered himself out and in of the lineup and heading again to the QMJHL in his closing yr of eligibility by January. Solely a month after becoming a member of Drummondville, he confronted yet one more impediment as he suffered a fractured ankle that may sideline him for many of the common season.
Regardless of the harm, Gendron returned to the lineup in time for the playoffs, recording a hat trick in Recreation 1 of the ultimate collection to assist lead his group to a league championship and a berth within the Memorial Cup match.
“It’s been a loopy, roller-coaster of a yr,” Gendron admitted. “Beginning the yr [in Lehigh Valley] and never taking part in a lot, I used to be nonetheless capable of play juniors. It was a enjoyable yr to have the possibility to go to the Memorial Cup and study a whole lot of issues.”
Now again in Lehigh Valley, Gendron has embraced the challenges that include maturing and adapting to the skilled recreation.
“Arising from junior, I actually wanted to work on my defensive facet,” he mentioned. “I feel it’s gotten higher. I’m simply making an attempt to be the very best 200-foot participant I may be, and proper now it’s entering into the suitable path.”
Offensively, he has utilized his pace and lethal shot to his benefit all through the primary half of the season, showcasing his goal-scoring capabilities on quite a few events.
“He’s coachable, he desires to study, and he desires to be higher,” mentioned Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere. “He’s making large strides. He’s a goal-scorer, and he desires to attain each evening.”
Gendron has drawn inspiration from his teammates, notably fellow Quebec native and veteran ahead Anthony Richard – a participant whose fashion he needs to emulate on the ice.
“Once I was youthful, one among my coaches instructed me to observe Anthony Richard on the web as a result of we had been comparable gamers,” Gendron shared. “So now to play with him, it’s sort of a shaggy dog story making an attempt to study from him. He’s a mature participant. He can skate as effectively, and he can play offense and protection. I’m simply making an attempt to study from him to change into that sort of participant.”
Off the ice, Gendron emphasised the significance of giving again to native youth gamers aspiring to someday attain the identical stage.
“It’s at all times good to work together with children,” he mentioned. “Once I was their age, I regarded as much as professional and junior gamers. It’s at all times enjoyable.”
As Gendron continues to develop his recreation with Lehigh Valley and work his approach to the NHL with the Flyers, his drive, dedication and confidence stay unfazed via the adversity he’s confronted to this point in his blossoming profession.
“Proper now, it’s a dream to play professionally, nevertheless it’s simply the beginning.”
