O'Rourke and Hunt had struggles adjusting to the AHL, but Hunt is more due to injuries than anything, so that can account for that. O'Rourke, I thought, would have had an easier time adapting to the AHL last year as he had a pretty good spell but watching him, I was kind of meh on him. For me, both O'Rourke and Hunt weren't really discussed much other than O'Rourke had a pretty mediocre year and Hunt had injury problems that made it hard to gauge how good he was.
I've caught more of Lambos than I have of Stramel and Stramel only because he played 5 freaking games and last year was...meh. Lambos can skate, but he's in the mold of all the other Minnesota prospects. Meh offensively, good defensively and a good middle 4 guy.
If you look at the scouting reports for Lambos during his draft year:
www.thedraftanalyst.com
NHL Projection
Top-pairing, minute-eating No. 1 defenseman for all situations.
After an injury ended his season in 2020-21, Carson Lambos could be the steal of the first round at the 2021 NHL Draft.
thehockeywriters.com
To think that Lambos will end up as anything but a top-four defenceman in the near future would be a mistake. He has top-pairing potential and developed the right way, by the right organization, Lambos could be a stud defenceman at the NHL level contributing at both ends of the ice at some point in the next few years.
Carson Lambos scouting report for NHL Draft. Profile contains Carson Lambos stats, videos and written bios
www.mynhldraft.com
Carson Lambos Scouting Report: It was a difficult season for Carson Lambos. Covid-19 and an injury limited him to just two WHL games.
lastwordonsports.com
Lambos has the potential to be a top-pairing defender in the NHL. He is very strong defensively for his age and if this development continues he could play against top lines at the next level. With the limited games he played due to the pandemic and injuries he will need more time in junior and is likely to be in the WHL for the next two seasons. If he can improve his offensive game and become a true power-play quarterback, he could be a franchise defenceman. As it stands though, he is more likely to become a team’s second or third best defender. Lambos game is reminiscent of Alex Pietrangelo (
H/T to Gabriel Foley), but this is a stylistic comparison only and not one based on skill or potential.
June 2023 – Although Lambos is one of the top defensive prospects for the Minnesota Wild, he did not have the greatest 2022-23 season as the captain of the dominant Winnipeg Ice of the WHL. He managed 48 points in 61 games which was less points-per-game compared to his 2021-22 season. His...
dobberprospects.com
One analyst had him to project better than Luke Hughes.
If Lambos turns out to be a bigger version of Spurgeon - wonderful, and I think he'll get there eventually, but the Wild need defensive help now. Spurgeon is declining, they just sent Addison packing, Bogosian, Goligoski, Merrill and Mermis are all stop gaps at the very best. They have Brodin and Faber. If there is ever a time for a defenseman to step up, it's right now and I had hoped that Lambos would be in the mix to do that given his resume. I wouldn't be surprised if Lambos tops out as a Scandella/Soucy type of guy.
Finally, remember Lambos was 20 for almost half the season last year, had spent almost 4 years in the WHL (if it wasn't for the pandemic) . He was also the 2nd overall pick in his draft year, so he had some serious potential or at least that's what they saw.
