Tri-City Americans, 2001-born forward Edge Lambert knows a bit about being patient. The former seventh-round pick of the Prince George Cougars in 2016 had just played two WHL games by the time his 17-year-old hockey season had ended.
That is often enough for players to be counted out for the Western Hockey League where big-name players his age were piling up points last season.
But Americans governor and general manager Bob Tory saw enough in the Grande Prairie, Alberta native to invite him to Tri-City’s training camp this August. Since then he has cemented himself in the Americans lineup, earning a spot on a line with leading scorers Sasha Mutala and Connor Bouchard last weekend and piling up eight goals and six assists for 14 points in his first 25 games.
“Edge is re-establishing himself in the WHL after a very brief stint in Prince George and then a year in Grande Prairie in the AMHL. He has a good Hockey IQ and work ethic and is starting to show some of the offensive characteristics he had as a younger player in bantam and midget,” Tory relayed.
Lambert won both the SSMHL and SMHL titles in Bantam and Midget as a 14-year-old. While with the Notre Dame Hounds in Bantam that season, he piled up 44 points in 38 games.
The six-foot, 185 pound forward had a hard time cracking the lineup in Prince George though.
“Had a couple of years in PG there and went up for preseason but I just couldn’t crack the roster, and maybe I just wasn’t playing at the top of my game at the time. I just kind of moved on from that and played in Midget for three years,” Lambert said.
He transitioned back to his hometown of Grande Prairie in 2017-18 and played for the Storm that season and the next. He credits his development there with helping take his play to the next level.
“I had a coach there, Chris Schmidt. He used to play for the (Los Angeles) Kings and he was a big inspiration for me. I used to get a little down on myself from time to time but he was always pushing me and challenging me and he gave me some confidence. Coach was a huge part of that.”
His development there and the work he put in the summer on foot speed and other things showed in training camp and preseason with Tri-City.
He scored a game-tying goal in his first preseason game with the Americans.
“He is quietly having a very good WHL rookie season and should continue to improve as he adjusts to the speed of the game and intensity of the WHL grind,” Tory said.
His point production over the past four games is definitely a sign Tory found his team a gem.
He has four goals and an assist over his last four games. Last Saturday, he scored twice and had an assist in a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Giants. For that game, he was slotted in on the wing with Bouchard and Mutala. The three combined for eight points in the game.
The usual linemate for those two, Kyle Olson has missed the last four games with an injury. Lambert stepped into a bigger role and produced.
“Olie (Olson) is an unbelievable player, so it’s gonna be tough without him, but just got to step up and hopefully I can fill that role and playing with Bouch (Bouchard) and Sasha, they see the ice so well and they’ve really helped me out showing me a lot.”
His 14 points have him tied with Olson for third on the team in scoring. With secondary scoring being so important to WHL teams, Lambert is quickly establishing himself as someone who can give his team production.
He is also proving that it’s never too late to start carving out a spot in the WHL.
