The Winnipeg Jets are back to their old strategy of drafting a player who fell in later in the first round. If I was push on Rutger McGroarty because he had a lower upside, the pick at 14 looks better because of the pick made at 30. One is likely to make it to the NHL in some role and the other could be a major bonus if manages to put it all together.
First of all, Brad’s last name is pronounced Lamb-Bert. And that very English/French name of Brad Lambert is actually Finnish. His mother is Finnish, his dad is Canadian, and he has played in Finland since 2017. He started off the season playing with JYP in the Liigga and finished the season with the Pelicans in the same league. He had 10 points in 49 games which explains the free fall from the top ten in the draft at the start of the season.
Lambert could fail to live up to his potential. There is a reason why he fell to 30th overall, but the Jets were smart to draft him because if he lives up to it, they will have a steal. If he doesn’t, they spent the 30th overall pick on him which is not a spot that yields a lot of high end NHL players. But right idea from the Jets.
Two biggest complaints I have about the Lambert pick is how he pronounces his last name and that he has ties to our rival province, Saskatchewan.
