WINNIPEG — Brad Lambert understands the opportunity he has this season to secure a top six spot for the Winnipeg Jets.
“I'm very happy,” the 20-year-old said during the Jets' development camp last month. “Obviously there's a lot of work ahead of me this summer. So that's kind of my thought process, taking it one day at a time, trying to get as good as I can. So that training camp coming up I'm ready to compete. .”
The urgency of Lambert's chances seems to have improved after comments by Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff on July 1, the day Winnipeg lost top six players Sean Monahan (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Tyler Toffoli (San Jose Sharks) in relief. .
“Being a young player in the Jets organization today, I'm very excited about the opportunities in front of me and I'm working hard in the offseason to make sure I take full advantage of them,” said Cheveldayoff. then.
Lambert, a first-round pick (No. 30) in the 2022 NHL Draft, appears poised to make the NHL jump, perhaps in a second-line role with forwards Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers.
“There are players we have seen come this way [defenseman] Josh Morrissey, [with] how much he prepared for his opportunity when he arrived,” said Jets director of player development Jimmy Roy. “All the work, he put in America. [Hockey] League. He came here and made an impact right away. Sometimes those opportunities don't come around for a while. You don't know when they will come but you have to prepare for them.”
Lambert, in his first professional season in North America, led Manitoba of the AHL with 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) in 64 games last season and was named to the AHL All-Rookie team.
His standout season earned him his NHL debut. Lambert had an assist in Winnipeg's regular season finale, a 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks at the Canada Life Center. The experience allowed him to assess where he was in his development.
“So that I can see where I am, get to see the situation in which I would play in front of the team. [NHL] crowd in Winnipeg, it was an unbelievable feeling,” Lambert said. “And I think that just makes me want more of that.”
Lambert (6-foot-1, 173 pounds) said he wants to get better in faceoffs, increase his strength to help cornerbacks, and improve his defensive play. But his leadership development and character are likely to leave a big impression on Winnipeg management.
“It says a lot about a player like Brad Lambert who doesn't have to come here but wants to come here and be a part of it and take that leadership role,” Cheveldayoff said during Jets development camp. “You don't ask a player to be or do something that he's not, but I think part of the process is that you see players grow year by year. Not only physically but emotionally, mentally. That's what's important. When you have young players you see them grow, you see them come into their own, with confidence, not only carrying the stick but have the confidence to sit down with a first-year boy and say, 'What's going on. How's your day going?' That's part of the process.”
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