NHL prospect roundup: Winnipeg Jets’ Brad Lambert excited

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Sometimes all it takes is a kick in the pants to find your mojo.

That’s exactly the case for Winnipeg Jets prospect Brad Lambert. Once considered a top prospect for 2023, 2022, Lambert fell to 30th as scouts were concerned about his work ethic and consistency. He was healthy scratched in Finland’s last two games at the 2022 World Junior Championship and had just 10 points in 49 Liiga games last year, down from his output of 15 points the year former.

Still, many thought he could be a useful NHL player, and he showed promising signs during training camp with the Jets. A few quiet months later, he’s in the WHL, where he’s finally starting to play good hockey consistently.

We’ll take a look at his game and nine other names you need to know in this week’s NHL prospect roundup:

WHL

– Brad LambertThe season has been a mixed big bag. It all started with a solid pre-season with the Winnipeg Jets before being sent to the AHL. He had just three points in 14 games before being loaned out to Finland’s World Junior effort, where he scored just one goal en route to a disappointing finish. The Jets opted to send him to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL to revive his season, and he now has 11 goals and 21 points in just 13 games. One would expect great things from a 19-year-old with three years of professional experience, but Lambert needed to find his confidence – and he has it now. The Thunderbirds will be considered for the WHL Championship, and adding Lambert and Dylan Guenther to a roster that already contains Reid Schaefer, Jared Davidson and Lucas Ciona will go a long way.

– Speaking of the Thunderbirds, how about Nolan Allan? The 19-year-old defenseman had the best game of his junior career on Tuesday, scoring a goal and adding three assists in a big win over the Victoria Royals. Allan also struggled early in the third period the night before, also against Victoria, with the big defender getting a solid 17 penalty minutes. THE Chicago Blackhawks however, he did not draft him 32nd overall in 2021 for his offense. His physicality, skating and strong defensive-zone play make him one of the best prospects in the team’s system, and he plans to be more of a stopping option. At least he’s making himself known right now.

OH

– Nashville Predators perspective Nolan Burk had a great week for the Sarnia Sting, scoring five goals and adding three assists for eight points in three games, earning him OHL Player of the Week honors. Burke has 36 goals and 62 points in 44 games, which puts him just under a 50-goal projection as a fifth-year OHL player. The Predators signed him as an undrafted free agent in November and he could head to the AHL once the season is over. It will be interesting to see how the Preds view Burke’s long-term potential after he was slow to find his footing in major junior, but he has some solid raw skills.

QMJHL

– A seventh-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers last year forward Alexandre Gendron found a little life with Gatineau. Gendron had 34 points in 29 games with Blainville-Boisbriand before being traded, and now has 17 goals and 26 points since being traded. One of the QMJHL’s top scorers, Gendron is on pace with 50 goals this year in 63 games, well past his 30 in his breakthrough season a year ago. Gendron is small at 5-foot-9, but he’s a skilled puck handler and is nimble as they come. His small frame doesn’t help, but it will be interesting to see how he fare once he finally makes it to the AHL. It’s too early to say the Flyers found tremendous value late in the draft, but he knows how to score.

USHL

– The Chicago Steel already had one of the busiest teams in the USHL before the trade deadline. But adding New York Islanders perspective Quinn Finley was the icing on the cake. He had 27 points in 23 games with Madison, but now Quinley is seven goals and 19 points in 14 games with the Steel, fitting in well with a roster that includes NHL prospect Nicholas Moldenhauer (Toronto) and Zam Plante (Pittsburgh), as well as the top prospect of the 2024 draft, Macklin Celebrini. Finley, a 2022 third-round pick, has played his best hockey recently, highlighted by a four-point effort against the USNTDP on Saturday. He has a good chance of winning his second Clark Cup championship before leaving for the University of Wisconsin.

NCAA

– from Harvard Sean Farrell is now the NCAA’s leading scorer among drafted NHL prospects after amassing 12 points in his last five games. He has 46 points in 27 games as a sophomore in college, just three points behind 2023 draft star Adam Fantilli for the college lead. THE Montreal Canadiens took Farrell 124th overall in 2020, and all he’s done is exceed expectations – including stellar performances at the Olympics and the World Championship with the United States. Farrell is listed at 5-foot-9, but the lack of height hasn’t hurt him so far. That being said, professional gaming is an entirely different animal.

THE H

– No one will be wrong Will Cuyle to be a high-level, all-time striker. But the New York Rangers prospect has a great shot, a hard work ethic, and a penchant for always getting inside everyone’s head. Since being called up for two games earlier in the month, Cuylle has three points in five games for Hartford, one of the worst-performing teams in the Atlantic. Cuylle’s 24 points in 47 games is a solid first step for the 21-year-old professional rookie, but keep an eye out for him before the NHL trade deadline as the Rangers look to go all the way.

– Jordan Spence is another player to watch ahead of the deadline. With 37 points in 44 games, he’s the highest-scoring U-22 defenseman in the AHL and is good for third in Ontario’s reign regardless of position. Spence has looked good in his 27 games over the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings but failed to break the defensive stalemate. Could it be a valuable delay acquisition?

league

– I personally think Topi Niemela has the potential to be the best prospect in the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system, and it looks sharp right now. The 20-year-old netted twice against HPK on Friday, marking the first multi-goal game of his career. He is expected to finish with around 20 points, which would make him the only U-21 defenseman drafted in the NHL to do so this season. That’s a bit down from his 32-point production a year ago, but he’s expected to join the AHL’s Toronto Marlies at the end of the season, which could be a big boost for the club ahead of the Calder Cup playoffs.

HockeyAllsvenskan

– No NHL prospect has as many points in Sweden’s second-tier league as Nikola Pasicdrafted 189th by the New Jersey Devils in 2019. Pasic has 18 goals and 51 points in 46 games for Sodertalje SK, a huge increase from his 15 points in 29 games last year. When drafted in the seventh round, Pasic looked like an absolute steal. The numbers are starting to line up, albeit not in Sweden’s top league. He played 13 games with Linkoping in the SHL last year and failed to score a point, but his production this year is gratifying. He’s 22 and doesn’t have a contract for next season so we’ll see what happens next.

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