Prospect Info: Brad Lambert, 30th Overall, 2022 NHL Draft

[nobody imp0rtant]

You sure? Nik Ehlers did it in 2014-15 51GP 101 Points.

In the Q yeah. Not in the Dub though where scoring is generally more difficult.

And it was only 1.98 PPG. So...

 

[RustyCat]

I wasn’t really expecting him to get 2.0 PPG, I honestly doubt it very much that he gets even very close to 100 points with his hockey IQ. But if he would get after all 100 points, then it would maybe start changing how I see his potential as a player. Over 2.0 PPG would make me feel even quite optimistic about his chances to have a good NHL career. Clearly under 100 points will make me continue with my not very high expectations on his NHL career.

We get it pal. You don't like him.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[Monkey D Luffy]

And it was only 1.98 PPG. So...

Sorry I should have included playoffs.

65 GP 132 Points

2.03 PPG

 

[lomiller1]

Well, not entirely. If Slafkovsky scored 13 points in 31 games, his P/60 would have been 1.77, closer to Aho's 2.12, but not quite. Slaf would have had to score about 16 points in 31 games to reach Aho's P/60. So 6 more points than he had.

The point with this P/60 comparison wasn't the specifics, but the big picture. Amongst all first rounders (+ Aho) in their draft years in Liiga since 2015, Slaf and Lambert "clearly" rank as the worst. Of course, doesn't mean they suck or anything, but I thought it was just interesting.

You are still in territory where a couple lucky breaks in each direction can account for the entire difference. All situations P/60 is just too variable over a 30 game sample to justify the type of conclusions you are making.

 

[rkp]

sounds like he was on a bad team with bad coaching...could end up be quite a steal....have to wait and see, time will tell

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

Sorry I should have included playoffs.

65 GP 132 Points

2.03 PPG

 

[Buffdog]

Because so far he has shown bad hockey IQ and bad decision making. They are the things hindering his production. If he finally starts producing and gets high class production, it gives some real hope for him solving his bad decision making problems. The production just needs to be quite substantial, as it’s quite well known that a player with excellent skating and good hands alone can get quite high point totals in junior leagues, even if they have quite mediocre hockey IQ. But those players usually run into a wall with their production, when they start playing against professional adults. Btw, 90 points is still quite close to 100 points, so depending on the amount of games he plays, it might be a quite encouraging sign, if he gets that kind of a point total if he plays in the WHL.

Put him in the WHL where he'll have more time and space vs lesser opponents to make those decisions. That's how players develop. Then move him to the AHL where guys are bigger and faster and let him acclimate there. Once he's ready, let him learn to do it in the NHL vs favorable matchups

 

[Jet]

Well he is 6’0” tall and he weighs around 183 lbs. Kucherov is 5’11” and 183 lbs, Aho is 6’0” and 176 lbs, Point is 5’10” and 183 lbs, Marner is 6’0” and 172 lbs, Ehlers 6’0” and 172 lbs, Connor 6’1” and 183 lbs, etc. I haven’t seen those guys having much of problems with their strength and size. It’s because that type of size is in fact quite ideal for players whose strength is quickness and speed.

Weight does not equal strength. Adult males' muscle is also more functional that that of an adolescent.

Saying he's going to be 20 next year is really disingenuous. Sure, technically he will turn 20 at the end of 2023 but that's 17 months away for a young adult who's still developing mentally and physically. It's an eon in time at that age.

You're really fighting hard to bash Lambert around here. We get it, you hate him as a player, noted.

The Jets drafted him, that won't change. If you're a Jets fan, then maybe it's time to try and focus on the positives and hope for the best. If you aren't a Jets fan, then what are you trying to accomplish?

 

[Ippenator]

Weight does not equal strength. Adult males' muscle is also more functional that that of an adolescent.

Saying he's going to be 20 next year is really disingenuous. Sure, technically he will turn 20 at the end of 2023 but that's 17 months away for a young adult who's still developing mentally and physically. It's an eon in time at that age.

You're really fighting hard to bash Lambert around here. We get it, you hate him as a player, noted.

The Jets drafted him, that won't change. If you're a Jets fan, then maybe it's time to try and focus on the positives and hope for the best. If you aren't a Jets fan, then what are you trying to accomplish?

First I just wanted to give a very honest and realistic description of the player and felt that quite many people here seemed to have quite unrealistic expectations and kowledge about Lambert as a player. I think that it’s better to not get the hopes so high. I had my hopes very high on Lambert over two years ago, because he was so much hyped after his success in the Finnish A-juniors then.

Then I started following his play in almost every game that he played, and game after game I started to realize more and more that he was after all a massive disappointment as a talent, compared to how much hype he has had. I kept still following him this season, and my disappointment was even bigger, as he actually clearly regressed with his play! At his age that is almost always a gigantic red flag. Especially when there are no health reasons behind it. The red flags have become even clearer to me especially when I have been seeing how bad his decision making has been unfortunately consistently for already the last two seasons.

So I just felt like it would be fair for the Jets fans to know more about the situation with him. Then some people started quite much debating against what I had clearly seen by watching Lambert play in over 70 games during the last two seasons, and I just kept on answering to those debate claims.

Anyway, I have still myself said, that I’m relatively confident that he might make a respectable NHL career as a good forechecker and maybe also an energetic PK player. I just hope that people don’t seriously get their hopes high on him becoming somekind of a real offensively efficient player in the NHL. I’m practically sure that those who expect that will be massively disappointed, like me and many other Finns have already been with Lambert.

 

[DRW204]

First I just wanted to give a very honest and realistic description of the player and felt that quite many people here seemed to have quite unrealistic expectations and kowledge about Lambert as a player. I think that it’s better to not get the hopes so high. I had my hopes very high on Lambert over two years ago, because he was so much hyped after his success in the Finnish A-juniors then.

Then I started following his play in almost every game that he played, and game after game I started to realize more and more that he was after all a massive disappointment as a talent, compared to how much hype he has had. I kept still following him this season, and my disappointment was even bigger, as he actually clearly regressed with his play! At his age that is almost always a gigantic red flag. Especially when there are no health reasons behind it. The red flags have become even clearer to me especially when I have been seeing how bad his decision making has been unfortunately consistently for already the last two seasons.

So I just felt like it would be fair for the Jets fans to know more about the situation with him. Then some people started quite much debating against what I had clearly seen by watching Lambert play in over 70 games during the last two seasons, and I just kept on answering to those debate claims.

Anyway, I have still myself said, that I’m relatively confident that he might make a respectable NHL career as a good forechecker and maybe also an energetic PK player. I just hope that people don’t seriously get their hopes high on him becoming somekind of a real offensively efficient player in the NHL. I’m practically sure that those who expect that will be massively disappointed, like me and many other Finns have already been with Lambert.

I, for one welcome the Finns analysis on him. How many games do we /north Americans have of Lambert outside of two world jrs game against hockey powerhouses Germany and Austria. Unless folks have seen a large part of his 90+gp in liiga last two seasons probably don't have a qualified opinion on him.

 

[tbcwpg]

First I just wanted to give a very honest and realistic description of the player and felt that quite many people here seemed to have quite unrealistic expectations and kowledge about Lambert as a player. I think that it’s better to not get the hopes so high. I had my hopes very high on Lambert over two years ago, because he was so much hyped after his success in the Finnish A-juniors then.

Then I started following his play in almost every game that he played, and game after game I started to realize more and more that he was after all a massive disappointment as a talent, compared to how much hype he has had. I kept still following him this season, and my disappointment was even bigger, as he actually clearly regressed with his play! At his age that is almost always a gigantic red flag. Especially when there are no health reasons behind it. The red flags have become even clearer to me especially when I have been seeing how bad his decision making has been unfortunately consistently for already the last two seasons.

So I just felt like it would be fair for the Jets fans to know more about the situation with him. Then some people started quite much debating against what I had clearly seen by watching Lambert play in over 70 games during the last two seasons, and I just kept on answering to those debate claims.

Anyway, I have still myself said, that I’m relatively confident that he might make a respectable NHL career as a good forechecker and maybe also an energetic PK player. I just hope that people don’t seriously get their hopes high on him becoming somekind of a real offensively efficient player in the NHL. I’m practically sure that those who expect that will be massively disappointed, like me and many other Finns have already been with Lambert.

Nobody has said he's some superstar in the making, except for you constantly telling us he won't be.

Also, there are opinions from people, many of whom do scouting as a career, to say that he's not been a massive disappointment and well worth a gamble at 30th overall. You're not the Lambert authority, and constantly arguing that you are and he's a bust on this board when you disappeared after Laine was traded is running a bit thin.

 

[MardyBum]

The eye test is much stronger in Finland, of course.

 

[Ippenator]

I, for one welcome the Finns analysis on him. How many games do we /north Americans have of Lambert outside of two world jrs game against hockey powerhouses Germany and Austria. Unless folks have seen a large part of his 90+gp in liiga last two seasons probably don't have a qualified opinion on him.

Of course if the miracle still happens and Lambert after all develops much better than what I have seen happening so far, I will be as happy as anyone at the Jets boards. I will also gladly then eat crow and admit that I was wrong about him after all.

I did a quite clear mistake with estimating Rantanen’s potential in the beginning of the season when he scored after all very well in the AHL. I never questioned his hockey IQ, but I felt that he was just way too soft and that he lacked way too much intensity and had a too weak shot, to be efficient as an offensive player. Oh, how wrong I was! He did improve his intensity and skating clearly already that season, and then he gradually improved his shot to elite level. Now he is one of the best wingers in the whole NHL, and how happy I am as a Finn, that I was after all wrong about him!

Also I didn’t estimate very well what level Laine will become as a player. I don’t think he is definitely a bad player - at least when he is healthy. But he just has been kind of a disappointment compared to the higher expectations that I had on him. Otherwise I would say that my estimations on Finnish players have gone quite well. Aho, Teräväinen and Heiskanen have become pretty much the class of players that I expected them to become when I saw them play as juniors. On the other hand I never believed that players like Kapanen, Puljujärvi, Kakko or Vesalainen would become anything great at the NHL level. Well, maybe the jury is still out a bit in Kakko’s case, but unfortunately I think he has the same problem as Kapanen, Pulju, Vesalainen and now Lambert - they just don’t have too good hockey IQ. But as I said already, I will gladly be wrong about Lambert!

 

[Jet]

I, for one welcome the Finns analysis on him. How many games do we /north Americans have of Lambert outside of two world jrs game against hockey powerhouses Germany and Austria. Unless folks have seen a large part of his 90+gp in liiga last two seasons probably don't have a qualified opinion on him.

I would counter with the suggestion before his disappointing season this year he was projected to go to 5, from people who professionally assess talent.

We don't know what he'll become, but to damn him after one year in his career is short sighted.

 

[DRW204]

The eye test is much stronger in Finland, of course.

Objective stats don't really put Lambert in a great light either.

 

[JetsFan815]

The last person whose eye-test we need to put a lot of weight in is the one who claimed that Laine was next Mario Lemieux level talent

 

[gojetsgo]

Of course if the miracle still happens and Lambert after all develops much better than what I have seen happening so far, I will be as happy as anyone at the Jets boards. I will also gladly then eat crow and admit that I was wrong about him after all.

I did a quite clear mistake with estimating Rantanen’s potential in the beginning of the season when he scored after all very well in the AHL. I never questioned his hockey IQ, but I felt that he was just way too soft and that he lacked way too much intensity and had a too weak shot, to be efficient as an offensive player. Oh, how wrong I was! He did improve his intensity and skating clearly already that season, and then he gradually improved his shot to elite level. Now he is one of the best wingers in the whole NHL, and how happy I am as a Finn, that I was after all wrong about him!

Also I didn’t estimate very well what level Laine will become as a player. I don’t think he is definitely a bad player - at least when he is healthy. But he just has been kind of a disappointment compared to the higher expectations that I had on him. Otherwise I would say that my estimations on Finnish players have gone quite well. Aho, Teräväinen and Heiskanen have become pretty much the class of players that I expected them to become when I saw them play as juniors. On the other hand I never believed that players like Kapanen, Puljujärvi, Kakko or Vesalainen would become anything great at the NHL level. Well, maybe the jury is still out a bit in Kakko’s case, but unfortunately I think he has the same problem as Kapanen, Pulju, Vesalainen and now Lambert - they just don’t have too good hockey IQ. But as I said already, I will gladly be wrong about Lambert!

a miracle? my lord the ego...

 

[Ippenator]

The last person whose eye-test we need to put a lot of weight in is the one who claimed that Laine was next Mario Lemieux level talent

Sorry, but I definitely never ever claimed aything like that. You must be remembering something some other Laine fan was saying.

 

[Finnflash]

I’m pretty sure that if he improves his play it will directly correlate to being half Canadian

 

[Ippenator]

a miracle? my lord the ego...

His development has been absolutely horrible during the last two years, and he really even regressed this season from his previous season. His stats are simply awful for a player with as much ice time as he has been getting in a quite offensive role in Liiga. After those kind of stats and that kind of regression during the last two seasons, it is practically a miracle if he will really become an offensively efficient NHL player. Players with his kind of stats at his age in Liiga just haven’t ever become offensively efficient NHL players. So yes, the history alone proves that it would be a miracle if it after all happens in his case. So nothing about anybody’s ego - just about historical facts. Of course miracles can sometimes happen.

 

[Mooche]

*Opens up Brad Lambert thread*

"Would be a miracle if he becomes an offensively efficient NHL player"

 

[Romang67]

Well, that's dumb.

The eye test is much stronger in Finland, of course.

Probably improved quite a bit since Laine.

I, for one welcome the Finns analysis on him. How many games do we /north Americans have of Lambert outside of two world jrs game against hockey powerhouses Germany and Austria. Unless folks have seen a large part of his 90+gp in liiga last two seasons probably don't have a qualified opinion on him.

If the Finns' analysis of him is that it would take a miracle for him to become a productive NHLer, I don't put anymore trust in their ability to predict future growth in prospects that anyone should have 6 years ago.

Then again, I don't think the Finns' with the most objective takes on a Jets' drafted Finn necessarily are the ones posting in here.

 

[Gil Fisher]

His development has been absolutely horrible during the last two years, and he really even regressed this season from his previous season. His stats are simply awful for a player with as much ice time as he has been getting in a quite offensive role in Liiga. After those kind of stats and that kind of regression during the last two seasons, it is practically a miracle if he will really become an offensively efficient NHL player. Players with his kind of stats at his age in Liiga just haven’t ever become offensively efficient NHL players. So yes, the history alone proves that it would be a miracle if it after all happens in his case. So nothing about anybody’s ego - just about historical facts. Of course miracles can sometimes happen.

he's not a proper finn is he

 

[KingBogo]

His development has been absolutely horrible during the last two years, and he really even regressed this season from his previous season. His stats are simply awful for a player with as much ice time as he has been getting in a quite offensive role in Liiga. After those kind of stats and that kind of regression during the last two seasons, it is practically a miracle if he will really become an offensively efficient NHL player. Players with his kind of stats at his age in Liiga just haven’t ever become offensively efficient NHL players. So yes, the history alone proves that it would be a miracle if it after all happens in his case. So nothing about anybody’s ego - just about historical facts. Of course miracles can sometimes happen.

If a kid has been regressing between ages 16 and 18 that screams to me someone has been f****** up his development. Now that he is a Jet prospect time to turn that around. Bring him to NA and have him play a year or 2 in junior so he can fill the net and find some passion for the game and then to the Moose to get NHL ready. The upside is still there IMO.

 

[Ippenator]

he's not a proper finn is he

Did I even mention about him being a Finn? I just mentioned that no player with as much ice time and as bad stats at his age in Liiga have ever become an offensively efficient NHL player. It doesn’t matter what the nationality is. There has been a lot of other nationality young players in Liiga and the same applies to them too. Also Barkov kind of isn’t the proper Finn, if you really believe in something like that about a player who still grew up in Finland with Finnish citizenship. Barkov of course had otherworldy stats compared to Lambert and Barkov was a year younger than Lambert was last season. With the absolutely poor stats and the awful decision making it truly is a miracle if Lambert ever becomes an offensively efficient player. He could still become an NHL player, just expecting him to become an offensively efficient NHL player with his history, is the same as expecting a miracle to happen.

If a kid has been regressing between ages 16 and 18 that screams to me someone has been f****** up his development. Now that he is a Jet prospect time to turn that around. Bring him to NA and have him play a year or 2 in junior so he can fill the net and find some passion for the game and then to the Moose to get NHL ready. The upside is still there IMO.

To me it screams most of all that the kid isn’t even close to as talented as some people seem to think. It also screams that great skating and good hands will not make you a great player if you simply
don’t have good enough hockey IQ.