Lambert matured as player in WHL

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This article was published 06/07/2023 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets had a plan to accelerate the development of promising prospect Brad Lambert when they reassigned the 19-year-old forward from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds on Jan. 9.

It was demotion, certainly, but what might have been considered a slap in the face to some, the young Finn took it in the spirit in which it was intended.

He accepted the decision of management and seized the opportunity, becoming a more well-rounded player in the process.

Lambert found a spot on Seattle’s top line, centring fellow first-round NHL draft picks Reid Schaefer and Dylan Guenther, and he exploded for 17 goals and 38 points in 26 regular-season games.

He added 26 more points, including six goals, in 17 playoff games as a talent-laden Thunderbirds team rolled to a 2022-23 WHL title.

“I think I improved all areas of my game in Seattle,” said Lambert on Wednesday, the second day of the Jets development camp at the hockey for all centre.

“From playing centre, defending and playing down low, I think I improved that. I think I improved my physical play. I got to play against my own age group, so I was stronger, obviously, compared to my competition and I learned how to use my body to protect pucks a little bit better.”

Lambert, drafted 30th overall in 2022 by Winnipeg, had shown some early spark in pre-season play with the Jets, but that promise fizzled when he registered only three points in 14 regular-season games with the Moose.

“He’s a world-class skater with high offensive skill (but) it just wasn’t developing,” said explained Jets player development co-ordinator Mike Keane.

“It just wasn’t out there, yet. It was kind of peeking (out) at times. He went to Seattle and established himself as an offensive player. Now we’ve seen that and it’s out there. He was playing with high-end players on a real good team system and he did well with it. That’s kind of what we were looking for.”

Centre Evan Friesen, a free-agent invitee to Jets development camp this week, had first-hand experience dealing with Lambert as a member of the Winnipeg Ice. Friesen’s line frequently went head to head with Seattle’s top unit during the best-of-seven WHL final, which the Thunderbirds eventually won in five games.

What made Lambert such a tough matchup?

“His IQ and his evasiveness,” said Friesen. “He’s so shifty on his edges and he can escape out of hits and corners, and when you put the IQ with that, it’s just very lethal.”

While in Seattle, Lambert had regular visits from Keane and director of player development Jimmy Roy, who appreciated the improvements they were seeing to his defensive game.

“If you’re going to play pro, you have to learn everything about the game,” said Keane. “And the one thing he was lacking — like every young player — is their attention to detail in their defensive game. You can’t just worry about offence and not play defence… So, that’s what (Seattle’s coaching staff) really pushed on and he got much better at it.”

Lambert, who spent three weeks in Saskatoon visiting with his grandmother and other members of his extended family following the Memorial Cup, has been energized by his process.

“It was a bit disappointing back then (to be sent to junior) but you need to make the best of the opportunity and it ended up being a great opportunity for me to play with a great hockey team,” he said. “It was a lot of fun and to win a championship you can’t complain…

“I’m gonna try to make the NHL, obviously, that’s my main goal. And we’ll see what happens.”

BLUE-LINES: Jets development camp continues on Friday and Saturday at the hockey for all centre. Friday’s sessions are scheduled for 9:45 and 10 a.m. All workouts are open to the public.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14