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

[gojetsgo]

Do they have the cap space? I wouldn't be shocked to see him get a few games in, assuming they are able to make the it work.

we currently have 3.2 million in space

 

[CrosbyStaalsAndNash]

Big Bad Brad was named the AHL rookie of the Month, with 18 points (4G, 14A) in 13 March games.

19 goals, 30 assists for 49 points in 56 games (0.88 pt/game)

 

[shotvalley]

Big Bad Brad was named the AHL rookie of the Month, with 18 points (4G, 14A) in 13 March games.

19 goals, 30 assists for 49 points in 56 games (0.88 pt/game)

Everything else matches but not big or bad. Are you hyped? Well you should be!!! Almost a point per game pace in the AHL at the age of 20 is almost historic! WOWZA!

 

[FinPanda]

I'm still not overly confident about his NHL career but his numbers sure are impressive. Hopefully he proves me wrong as he was awful in Finland and on our national team.

 

[Atoyot]

I'm still not overly confident about his NHL career but his numbers sure are impressive. Hopefully he proves me wrong as he was awful in Finland and on our national team.

Hard for him to look good on the National team when he's playing on a shutdown line for 10 minutes a game centred by Samuel Helenius. He was fantastic in the Juniors as a 16 year old when they used him in an offensive role.

 

[FinPanda]

Hard for him to look good on the National team when he's playing on a shutdown line for 10 minutes a game centred by Samuel Helenius. He was fantastic in the Juniors as a 16 year old when they used him in an offensive role.

He wasn't the coaches favourite and hardly played him so I agree somewhat but I think he should've been better and evrrytime I've seen him play he hasn't been impressive.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He wasn't the coaches favourite and hardly played him so I agree somewhat but I think he should've been better and evrrytime I've seen him play he hasn't been impressive.

Have you seen him play since he came over the North America? Because he's been extremely impressive during his stints in the WHL, AHL, and even NHL preseason.

 

[larmex99]

Have you seen him play since he came over the North America? Because he's been extremely impressive during his stints in the WHL, AHL, and even NHL preseason.

For a 30th overall pick I would say that he has excelled at each level since being drafted, with the exception of his time playing for Finland. Maybe his style just matches up better in NA?

 

[FinPanda]

Have you seen him play since he came over the North America? Because he's been extremely impressive during his stints in the WHL, AHL, and even NHL preseason.

No I haven't, but thats why said I hope his performance will show later in the NHL level as well. AHL doesn't mean anything if he can't do well on the NHL level.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

No I haven't, but thats why said I hope his performance will show later in the NHL level as well. AHL doesn't mean anything if he can't do well on the NHL level.

It certainly means more than play in short junior tournaments 2+ years ago. He's had the best AHL season of any 2022 draft pick, and he's torn it up in the last month of the season..

It would be pretty unprecedented for a 19/20 year old to have the season Lambert has had and not become a regular NHL'er.

He's keeping some pretty good company vs other draft+2 seasons in the AHL in the last 25 years. And unlike a lot of these guys on this list, Lambert is leading his team in scoring (despite missing like 7 games).

I'd be shocked if he doesn't become at least a middle 6 scoring forward in the NHL. History suggests he's got a good shot at being much more.

 

[2014nyr]

Still would love to know the full story here. There was talks of him going top 5. Maybe he fell off the map going into the draft but when you start getting into the 20s it's a crapshoot anyways, why would you not take a gamble on a guy that was once talked about being in the top 5. Your pick in the 20s is not likely to turn into much anyways so why not go for a high risk high reward.

yea, a drop like that leads me to believe the 2 most likely explanations being teams impressions of him personally led them to believe there was a ton of risk in the risk/reward ratio, or that there were real questions about whether he had the hockey iq for the pro level. some guys have a ton of skating ability and puck skills, but they get by strictly on that and aren't reading the ice. those guys eventually get their doors blown off repeatedly and are unable to produce effectively. in my experience, the personality issues and that skillset tend to go hand in hand.

i could be wrong and i know nothing about him personally nor have any inside info about him. kids can grow up. if you've ever played with or been around really elite players as kids, you know many of them are pretty cocky or can be mean/bullies. for some, they never grow past that and never hold themselves accountable. they end up going nowhere. others mature and become self aware, take accountability for themselves, and grow into great people that go far. it could be any myriad of reasons, but i'd imagine something in that realm of attitude/personality/maturity was involved. i'm strictly reading the tea leaves because i don't see any on ice reason why he would have been considered a top 3 pick leading to the draft to drop there. i remember him also being left off a finnish wjc team he was expected to have a big role on, and on talent level he certainly belonged, which also lends credibility to the drop not being as much about the on ice.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

yea, a drop like that leads me to believe the 2 most likely explanations being teams impressions of him personally led them to believe there was a ton of risk in the risk/reward ratio, or that there were real questions about whether he had the hockey iq for the pro level. some guys have a ton of skating ability and puck skills, but they get by strictly on that and aren't reading the ice. those guys eventually get their doors blown off repeatedly and are unable to produce effectively. in my experience, the personality issues and that skillset tend to go hand in hand.

i could be wrong and i know nothing about him personally nor have any inside info about him. kids can grow up. if you've ever played with or been around really elite players as kids, you know many of them are pretty cocky or can be mean/bullies. for some, they never grow past that and never hold themselves accountable. they end up going nowhere. others mature and become self aware, take accountability for themselves, and grow into great people that go far. it could be any myriad of reasons, but i'd imagine something in that realm of attitude/personality/maturity was involved. i'm strictly reading the tea leaves because i don't see any on ice reason why he would have been considered a top 3 pick leading to the draft to drop there. i remember him also being left off a finnish wjc team he was expected to have a big role on, and on talent level he certainly belonged, which also lends credibility to the drop not being as much about the on ice.

I think GMs & scounts got caught stat watching a bit on this one, honestly.

Not saying they didn't scout the player, but I think his lack of production was too much for most to overlook. Sometimes you have to ignore the counting stats and trust what you're seeing on the ice.

 

[majormajor]

I think GMs & scounts got caught stat watching a bit on this one, honestly.

Not saying they didn't scout the player, but I think his lack of production was too much for most to overlook. Sometimes you have to ignore the counting stats and trust what you're seeing on the ice.

I disagree. I think they were more put off by the way he played, especially his inability in the Finnish league to spot his passing opportunities. That and the constant team switching.

 

[Atoyot]

I disagree. I think they were more put off by the way he played, especially his inability in the Finnish league to spot his passing opportunities. That and the constant team switching.

His vision has been pretty fantastic in the AHL.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Hard for him to look good on the National team when he's playing on a shutdown line for 10 minutes a game centred by Samuel Helenius. He was fantastic in the Juniors as a 16 year old when they used him in an offensive role.

He played on top lines in lead roles in U20s just as he did in Liiga. Then eventually got demoted. It's not because poor Brad was being bullied, it's because he did not score, was not strong enough to win puck battles and wasn't very effective defensively.

All of which are very normal things for a teenager who's playing in an adult league, especially one that's very defensive orientated and grindy. And it's also normal for a 16-17 yo to struggle in U20s, which is why there's so much noise whenever one doesn't.

He then came to AHL and got 1+2 in 14 games & was send down to WHL.

Then, because he has had time to develop, he finally broke out in a professional league.

This is the most normal career path I can think of for a player. The guy grew as a player after putting in the work. Why paint it as anything else?

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He played on top lines in lead roles in U20s just as he did in Liiga. Then eventually got demoted. It's not because poor Brad was being bullied, it's because he did not score, was not strong enough to win puck battles and wasn't very effective defensively.

All of which are very normal things for a teenager who's playing in an adult league, especially one that's very defensive orientated and grindy. And it's also normal for a 16-17 yo to struggle in U20s, which is why there's so much noise whenever one doesn't.

He then came to AHL and got 1+2 in 14 games & was send down to WHL.

Then, because he has had time to develop, he finally broke out in a professional league.

This is the most normal career path I can think of for a player. The guy grew as a player after putting in the work. Why paint it as anything else?

He was actually playing really good during the start of his AHL stint last year until he got covid. He had 3p in his first 4 games and then got sick and took him a while to recover.

 

[ijuka]

Even still, 30th has to feel too low. He's pretty comfortably the best skater of the draft class, and that should be worth something. His hands are also near the top. These he had even pre-draft.

Hockey IQ concerns, production concerns... Sure, I guess. Those could drop him out of the top 10 or something, but 30th? Can't help but feel like the scouts were outsmarting themselves.

Reminds me of stuff like Chychrun in the past. They expected Lambert to have a better season, so they rated him according to how much he disappointed their expectations, rather than according to where he actually rated in relation to other players.

After pick number 20, I think that there's very little argument to pick anyone there over Lambert, for example.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I disagree. I think they were more put off by the way he played, especially his inability in the Finnish league to spot his passing opportunities.

I have a lot of respect for your opinion and eye for talent, so you may be right, but honestly I just never saw the issues with his ability to identify passing lanes, especially in front of him and laterally. Sometimes he'd hold onto pucks too long and ignore viable passing options, but I never saw that as poor vision or processing, rather just immature decision making from a kid who was used to being able to play hero hockey vs his peers (admittedly, it can be hard to narrow down the source of such issues, but I saw enough of him making elite reads and passes to convince me it wasn't a vision or processing problem).

My only "concern" with his vision was that he sometimes underestimated back pressure when passing against the grain just inside the offensive blue line, leading to ugly looking turnovers. But that was always a fixable problem, and he's really cleaned up that part of his game. Every time I watched him in Liga, he displayed elite puck transporting skills and very good playmaking skills, with a high level processor - he was constantly creating opportunities for everyone on the ice (mostly for his team, but also for the opposition). He was really unlucky to rack up so few points that year.

Generally, my biggest critique of him during his draft year was his tendency to try to do too much, trying to beat defenders 1-1 when pulling up to wait for help made more sense, or making high risk passes near the blue lines, or holding onto pucks too long when he had open teammates. All of these habits made him a bit of a turnover machine - he really seemed to enjoy finding opportunities to challenge defenders 1-1, both off the rush and coming out of the corners, only to get bullied off the puck by bigger, stronger opponents.

I could see some scouts dinging him for his poor puck management habits, attributing it to poor IQ, but I think that was a mistake. I try not to hold that against 17 year olds with his kind of game breaking talent and great processor. I think most of these bad habits are just the natural immaturity you tend to see from prodigal teenagers when they make the transition to playing against men. Hell, Connor Bedard has been struggling with a lot of these same issues all season, and I don't think anyone would question his IQ.

That and the constant team switching.

This might have been part of the issue. I don't like team switching, but I also didn't necessarily blame him given the situation with his father.

But if he bombed his team interviews, then that starts to form a pattern. From what I can tell, he does well with the media and seems pretty level headed, and his on ice effort has always been very good IMO.

For me, this kid was a top 2 forward in the draft in terms of skill set and upside. The character issues would have to be significant for me not to take him in the top 10, let alone 30th.

 

[FinPanda]

It certainly means more than play in short junior tournaments 2+ years ago. He's had the best AHL season of any 2022 draft pick, and he's torn it up in the last month of the season..

It would be pretty unprecedented for a 19/20 year old to have the season Lambert has had and not become a regular NHL'er.

He's keeping some pretty good company vs other draft+2 seasons in the AHL in the last 25 years. And unlike a lot of these guys on this list, Lambert is leading his team in scoring (despite missing like 7 games).

View attachment 845603

I'd be shocked if he doesn't become at least a middle 6 scoring forward in the NHL. History suggests he's got a good shot at being much more.

I'll be happy if you're right, I am just pessimistic.

 

[CrosbyStaalsAndNash]

goal and an assist for Brad in today's shootout win!

Brad Lambert with the extra effort to set up Jeff Malott
Brad Lambert's 20th goal of the season

 

[Whileee]

goal and an assist for Brad in today's shootout win!

Brad Lambert with the extra effort to set up Jeff Malott
Brad Lambert's 20th goal of the season

Pretty good vision displayed on that assist. He's shown that pretty consistently this season in the AHL.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

20 goals, 52 points in 59 games
- very strong rookie season

With his speed and skill set and if Jets is willing to give him fair shake
next season, at top 6 - 9 role, in the NHL, many will be saying cliche's like
i told you so, why did he fell so far in the draft, pretty much the same
stuff its been said this entire season

 

[Jukurit]

Lambert's game is probably just better suited for NA style of game instead of Finnish style of game.

Finnish style of game: More passive, strategic, slower-paced, trap.
NA style of game: More about skating and individual skills. Faster pace.

Lambert doesn't fall as much if he plays his draft year in WHL.

 

[MardyBum]

We'll see at camp but if the Jets are actually interested in developing another C he should probably spend all next year in the AHL too playing C. The Jets are ultra conservative and will pivot off him at C the first chance they get in the NHL. Plus there's only space on the 4th line at winger if at all next season with KFC, Ehlers, Vilardi and Perfetti.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Lambert's game is probably just better suited for NA style of game instead of Finnish style of game.

Finnish style of game: More passive, strategic, slower-paced, trap.
NA style of game: More about skating and individual skills. Faster pace.

Lambert doesn't fall as much if he plays his draft year in WHL.

Been saying that since his draft year. It was painfully obvious, yet most Finnish posters refused to accept it for whatever reason.