C/W Brad Lambert (2022, 30th, WPG) Part 3

[wetcoast]

If people can tune into TSN to watch this series I highly recommend it. This Seattle team is something like I've never really seen before... And Winnipeg is a good team too.

Lambert is so ridiculously dynamic it is insane... The speed he has when he gets the puck in the defensive zone and rushes up the ice is deadly to see... What a unbelievable prospect Winnipeg Jets have with him

If it all comes together at the next level he will be an electrifying player to be sure but on draft day there were legitimate questions about the likelihood of him reaching that and the prospect of bust.

 

[Huffer]

If it all comes together at the next level he will be an electrifying player to be sure but on draft day there were legitimate questions about the likelihood of him reaching that and the prospect of bust.

Agreed. We have to be careful to not let the pendulum swing too far back the other way now after a lot of negativity. He's been very good in the WHL in his D+1 for sure. The next step is to build on it (and his short stint in the AHL last year), and continue to develop and improve in the AHL next year.

 

[chaser17]

This guy should've been playing in the WHL 2 years ago.

 

[MardyBum]

 

[Nickel eye Heel hers]

I'm happy that he has performed well with athletes his own age. I look forward to seeing how he does in a full season with the Moose.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Agreed. We have to be careful to not let the pendulum swing too far back the other way now after a lot of negativity. He's been very good in the WHL in his D+1 for sure. The next step is to build on it (and his short stint in the AHL last year), and continue to develop and improve in the AHL next year.

Why not? The pendulum never should have swung that negative in the first place. The fact that it did tells me there are still a lot of "hockey people" who don't understand what to look for when evaluating prospects.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Why not? The pendulum never should have swung that negative in the first place. The fact that it did tells me there are still a lot of "hockey people" who don't understand what to look for when evaluating prospects.

it was just not here. He dropped to 30th for a reason, and those are real scouts. Let's see next year in the AHL if he keeps the upward trajectory

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

it was just not here. He dropped to 30th for a reason, and those are real scouts. Let's see next year in the AHL if he keeps the upward trajectory

Yeah, and the reason is because they relied way too much on counting stats than actually looking at the player's talent. It's pretty clear that letting him fall to 30 was monumentally stupid. We just saw him head to head with Connor Geekie, who went 11th lol.

These are the same real scouts that let Barzal fall to 16 because his numbers didn't jump off the page. Appealing to authority doesn't make sense in a situation like this, where they were obviously wrong.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Yeah, and the reason is because they relied way too much on counting stats than actually looking at the player's talent. It's pretty clear that letting him fall to 30 was monumentally stupid. We just saw him head to head with Connor Geekie, who went 11th lol.

These are the same real scouts that let Barzal fall to 16 because his numbers didn't jump off the page. Appealing to authority doesn't make sense in a situation like this, where they were obviously wrong.

That’s a fine argument. I also think Lambert has improved this year. However even as recently as the U20s he was playing poorly. In the AHL he was mostly invisible beyond the first few games of the year. He has a real problem with translating his game to a pro style and that’s been show in Liiga, the AHL and internationally. His run in the WHL is good, but not out of this world good. Hopefully it has developed his confidence to apply those skills against better competition.

You can call that poor scouting or just using counting stats, etc. but it’s the truth and it’s the reason he fell. Translatability should be the decider of player evaluation, not ignored, especially when evidence exists of a player’s struggle with it.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

That’s a fine argument. I also think Lambert has improved this year. However even as recently as the U20s he was playing poorly. In the AHL he was mostly invisible beyond the first few games of the year. He has a real problem with translating his game to a pro style and that’s been show in Liiga, the AHL and internationally. His run in the WHL is good, but not out of this world good. Hopefully it has developed his confidence to apply those skills against better competition.

You can call that poor scouting or just using counting stats, etc. but it’s the truth and it’s the reason he fell. Translatability should be the decider of player evaluation, not ignored, especially when evidence exists of a player’s struggle with it.

He was just fine at the WJCs and was benched because of one play. He was also excellent in NHL preseason and his first few AHL games before getting COVID, which clearly impacted him for a while. I see nothing that suggests he'll have any translation issues. Did you even watch him in actual NHL preseason play? He was incredible. He damn near made the team out of camp.

 

[Jukurit]

He was just fine at the WJCs and was benched because of one play. He was also excellent in NHL preseason and his first few AHL games before getting COVID, which clearly impacted him for a while. I see nothing that suggests he'll have any translation issues. Did you even watch him in actual NHL preseason play? He was incredible. He damn near made the team out of camp.

"benched because of one play" lmao. He was terrible in that game. He deserved to get benched.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

"benched because of one play" lmao. He was terrible in that game. He deserved to get benched.

It's already been established that you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to Finnish prospects.

 

[Jukurit]

It's already been established that you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to Finnish prospects.

Ok, Ross Lambert.

 

[BigRangy]

It should have bee obvious just based on his talent level that he should have been picked well before 30. But then again, it was obvious for Puljujarvi too and he’ll probably be out of the league in the near future. Both of these guys were just insanely talented in their draft-1’s.

 

[Tube Skates]

Seattle is a good team. They’d be where they are with or without him.

 

[Nickel eye Heel hers]

I've taken a more optimistic approach than I had before watching him play with Seattle. The scouting reports and naturally pessimistic Finnish posters had me concerned with this pick. I think playing in his own age group was a positive for him and let him grow a little without feeling forced to make a big jump he likely wasn't ready for.
I would like to see him for a full year playing C on the Moose playing with skilled players on the 1st or 2nd line and see if he can duplicate his success. He may be a player that needs to be moved up to the NHL on a slower timeline than us Jets fans want. He has shown a reason for hope that the scouts were wrong about him. I just hope the Jets franchise keeps him progressing at a speed where he continues to do well.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I've taken a more optimistic approach than I had before watching him play with Seattle. The scouting reports and naturally pessimistic Finnish posters had me concerned with this pick. I think playing in his own age group was a positive for him and let him grow a little without feeling forced to make a big jump he likely wasn't ready for.
I would like to see him for a full year playing C on the Moose playing with skilled players on the 1st or 2nd line and see if he can duplicate his success. He may be a player that needs to be moved up to the NHL on a slower timeline than us Jets fans want. He has shown a reason for hope that the scouts were wrong about him. I just hope the Jets franchise keeps him progressing at a speed where he continues to do well.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[Jukurit]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

What's so funny?

 

[TheGreenTBer]

What's so funny?

HF Finland has a reputation...and it sure as shit ain't for being pessimistic toward Finnish athletes.

The country of Finland may be pessimistic and reserved toward its athletes, I'm not qualified to know, but on this forum, well, I'll let someone else explain lol.

 

[Nickel eye Heel hers]

HF Finland has a reputation...and it sure as shit ain't for being pessimistic toward Finnish athletes.

The country of Finland may be pessimistic and reserved toward its athletes, I'm not qualified to know, but on this forum, well, I'll let someone else explain lol.

I heard a joke about the Finnish people. I'm not sure if there's any truth to it.
When a Fin meets someone they don't know they stare at their shoes, if the Finn is very social they'll stare at the other persons shoes.
I'm not sure if I told that right.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

I heard a joke about the Finnish people. I'm not sure if there's any truth to it.
When a Fin meets someone they don't know they stare at their shoes, if the Finn is very social they'll stare at the other persons shoes.
I'm not sure if I told that right.

If that's funny, it's lost in translation for North America.

 

[JabbaJabba]

I heard a joke about the Finnish people. I'm not sure if there's any truth to it.
When a Fin meets someone they don't know they stare at their shoes, if the Finn is very social they'll stare at the other persons shoes.
I'm not sure if I told that right.

Never heard this before but I like it.

Happy for Lambert's successful spring. That's something he can build on and after the summer training period it will be interesting to see how he performs in the AHL.

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

I've heard that joke before but it's on the more rare side of stereotype jokes about Finns.

I think the crux is that a lot of the Finnish posters here on HF are big homers, however there's probably an equal amount of Finns who are on the other end of the spectrum and absolutely hate and bash certain Finnish players (e.g. Patrik Laine to use a recent example). Lambert has been controversial for years and he's got a lot of haters and non-believers. I think he's pretty much been declared a bust by most who don't follow him actively. His issues and adventures with the Liiga teams and management have been well documented and he's left some bad blood in his wake (fans), I'm sure that all has been discussed in this thread ad nauseum.

Many people including myself will be surprised if he can make it in the NHL. I'd be happy to see it though, he's looked very good in certain moments and would be exciting to watch if he can translate that over to the NHL.

 

[Jukurit]

People should probably wait how well Lambert does in AHL before hyping him too much. I'll believe Lambert is good when he can score outside of junior leagues, which is something that he hasn't done yet.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

People should probably wait how well Lambert does in AHL before hyping him too much. I'll believe Lambert is good when he can score outside of junior leagues, which is something that he hasn't done yet.

Not everyone lacks the courage of conviction to have an affirmative opinion about a player before they fully mature. His talent is obvious.