By Thomas Williams -
CARSON LAMBOS.
I cannot get over this teenaged defenseman’s name. It sticks in my brain like a parasite in your favorite science-fiction movie, creeping and crawling around ever since I came across his name in an early mock draft last year.
The lefty for the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice was slated to go as early as a top-10 pick, but with the league opening back up and more names riding the super hype wave early in this draft, his has slipped down the list in a more realistic place for the sizeable defender.
Lambos is just one of those guys that plays a steady game, not joining the rush often as an attacker from the back, but would rather make the more dependable outlet pass or play from the point.
He possesses enough offensive awareness to be useful in his junior leagues, but once the speed is ramped up in the professional level, we’ll have to see if he can make that transition. As always, prospects grow and evolve, and Lambos will be one to keep an eye out for either a team that wants to make a “safe” pick in the mid-to-late first or for a team to instead take a shifty winger that might be available instead.
Pre-Draft Rankings
#11 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
#17 by Corey Pronman/The Athletic
What Scouts Are Saying
-Tony Ferrari, Dobber Prospects
Would He Fit In With The Wild?
Most certainly. Lambos’s two-way game has Minnesota Hockey written all over him. Whether he is seen as a left-handed Dumba or will opt more for the Ryan Suter comparison, he would seamlessly fit in on the Wild’s blue line if he stays on the same path of progression he is currently on.
A very “good at most, master of none” type of player is basically what every Minnesota player outside a handful, currently are. Just depth upon depth, rolling lines and always coming with force into the offensive zone. It would be an interesting pick, since the Wild actually could feasibly get him.
Could The Wild Get Him?
Yes. That’s the short answer, but the long answer is more determining if the Wild should select him at either 21st or 25th overall. Earlier this year he was projected to go as high as top-8 and was seen on the same level of a Brandt Clarke, as he went over to Europe to play in Finland. Keeping his game steady and impressing more as he went to the minor professional level kept his name in heads of scouts.
The Wild are extremely short when it comes to prospects on the blue line and Lambos can join a crew of Calen Addison and Ryan O’Rourke, to battle out the top title as their best future option. To bolster that cupboard positionally can certainly be beneficial, but with the amount of potential forward talent available at that spot, it would be hard to pass up a higher-impact player. You can’t be mad with a Lambos pick though.
A Minnesota Relation
I’ve already made this comparison in an earlier draft profile, but Lambos just screams Ryan Suter. An early-career minute-muncher that left coaches drooling, Suter was able to bring his talents to the powerplay, penalty kill; just being an all-situations defenseman that can lead their team in the top-four group.
It’s an easy comparison but also the one that makes the most sense.
2021 NHL Draft Board
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