WINNIPEG — The spotlight is hovering over Brad Lambert at training camp.
“I know [media members] are talking to him lots about these situations that are available,” Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Saturday morning.
Ever since GM Kevin Cheveldayoff proclaimed on July 1 — after failing to re-sign Sean Monahan — that there was going to be an opportunity for young prospects to win spots at camp, fans have been buzzing about the possibility of Lambert becoming the team’s second-line centre.
But Lambert attests that this year’s training camp is no different than previous ones.
“Every time I’ve come to camp, I’ve believed in myself and you know, that hasn’t changed,” Lambert said in a one-on-one interview with Sportsnet.ca on Saturday. “So for me, it’s just about taking it one day at a time, working my ass off and trying to compete for a spot.”
By all accounts, Lambert, the 30th-overall pick at the 2022 draft, has an inside track to line up below Mark Scheifele on Winnipeg’s depth chart.
The 20-year-old is coming off an incredible 2023-24 campaign with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, recording 55 points in 64 games en route to being named to the league’s All-Rookie team. Two years removed from seeing his draft stock plummet — after being initially pegged as a top-10 talent — Lambert recorded the most points of any U-20 AHL scorer, outscoring top-10 picks like Shane Wright and Marco Kasper. He capped off his draft-year-plus-two season by making his NHL debut on April 18 against the Vancouver Canucks, where he recorded an assist.
Having a talent like Lambert as a top-six fixture could be a difference-maker for a Jets team that saw Monahan and Tyler Toffoli depart in free agency. Lambert is an elite skater who possesses beautiful edgework, high-end puck skills and a quick release on his wrist shot.
“He’s so comfortable and confident with the puck on his stick,” Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo told Sportsnet.ca. “He’s not afraid to make plays.”
However, as exciting as Lambert’s skillset is, his raw talent alone won’t secure him a second-line centre job in the NHL.
“One thing that everybody always has to remember — if you get put into that second line centre [spot], you know who you’re facing, you’re facing probably the other team’s top two lines. You’re playing against the elite defencemen on that team,” Arniel said. “So it’s a different game. It isn’t just going out and playing against your peers and [similar] experienced guys, you’re getting the best of the best from the opposition. That’s the next step for all young players to become regulars in the NHL. Can you handle that competition you’re running into?”
Lambert spent his entire summer focusing on just that while working out in Aurora Ont. with hockey-training guru Gary Roberts. On top of scrimmaging against the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Lambert focused on filling out his 6-foot-1 frame — he gained eight pounds this summer — to improve his strength in the faceoff circle and in board battles down low. Lambert’s raw tools may be NHL-ready, but he knows it’s about more than just that.
“I think I’ve improved on my attention to detail,” he said. “Being able to play on the defensive side of the puck, being reliable and being able to react quicker. I’ve tried to evolve every aspect of my game.”
Offensive production aside, Lambert’s biggest progression last year was his decision making.
“When I was at [Jets training camp] the first time, I think I tried to go through too many guys by myself,” Lambert said. “You’ve got to do other things, like using little give-and-gos, or chipping it forward. It’s hard to beat five guys by yourself at the pro level. It’s pretty clear when you have some space to take a guy on and I obviously want to do that but there’s also times when you’ve got to just chip it in when there’s no room.”
While the Jets have typically been known to slow-cook their prospects in the minors — for better or worse — their need for a second-line centre spot may force them to pivot from the uber-patient approach they typically take. If Lambert can prove that he can be an asset for the Jets offensively, should they still re-assign him to the minors if his defensive game still needs a bit of refining?
“If he makes this team out of camp and he’s a centre, it’s going to be a little trial by fire against some pretty good darn centres in this league, but you know what? That’s how I think you learn the most,” DeMelo said.
While the Jets’ pursuit of a playoff spot may deter them from giving Lambert so much leash, it’s a gamble that could pay off and put the team’s largely inactive free agency in the rear-view mirror.
But before the Jets can properly ponder how much runway they’ll give him in the regular season, Lambert needs to have a lights-out training camp. And the Jets are giving him ample opportunity to do so, placing two experienced NHLers — Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo — on his wing for the team’s first pre-season game Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
“If he doesn’t make our team out of camp, it’s not like ‘oh no, Brad Lambert didn’t make the team.’ He’ll be with us up here, one way or another, one day,” DeMelo said.
