PENTICTON, British Columbia -- Brad Lambert wants to get to the NHL as fast as he can.
But the Winnipeg Jets forward prospect is already very aware that his progression to those ranks is far from a linear path.
"It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid," the 19-year-old said at the Young Stars Classic. " It'd be unbelievable to make it happen. But you have to take it one day at a time, one game at a time, one practice at a time, and try to do whatever you can. You can't think too far ahead.
"I mean, I'm going to try to force their hand this year and do what I can to make the team. I can do that, but obviously it's a process. We'll see where it goes. My goal is to try to go and earn a spot."
A job with the Jets would be Lambert's fifth full-time stop in under two years.
Lambert, the No. 30 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, played the 2021-22 season in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland, split between JYP and Pelicans.
He came to North America last year, starting the season with Manitoba in the American Hockey League before being assigned to Seattle of the Western Hockey League in January after participating at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship -- his third trip to the tournament.
The Lahti, Finland native has treated each stop as a learning experience but wouldn't mind finding a more fixed address.
"I think for sure I played a lot of different places and in different leagues, too," said Lambert, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract after a standout training camp last October. "I've played in the AHL, played some NHL preseason games which is good, WHL obviously, and back in Finland there. You get a lot of different experiences and lots of different types of situations. You can use it all.
"In a way, obviously, it was awesome in Seattle. But to not have to move around would be nice."
In the AHL, Lambert had three points (two goals, one assist) in 14 games. He then dominated the WHL with 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) in 26 regular-season games, and had 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 17 playoff games to help Seattle to a WHL title and an appearance in the Memorial Cup final. There, he had three points (one goal, two assists) in five games.
There's little question as to what's made Lambert (6-foot, 183 pounds) successful to date.
"It's his speed," said Mark Morrison, briefly Lambert's coach in the AHL last season. "It's his skating ability to carry the puck through the neutral zone, enter the zone under control with it. He drives everybody back. He can delay and hold up and hit guys late. But his speed ... he has NHL speed."
As fast as Lambert is, he won't be rushed to Winnipeg unless proven ready.
"I think that's something Brad has to work on," Morrison said. "He wants things to happen very quick for him. You don't want to take that away from him, either, because that's part of why he is who he is. He wants to play at a high level all the time. It's good, but we try to hold him back a little back and say, 'hey, listen....' He gets down on himself a little bit if he doesn't make the right play every time. That's going to happen. We need to let him make those plays and let him try different things because he is creative.
"He'll decide where he's going to go himself. We don't try to hinder him or hold him back. We just let him see where he can go with it."
Lambert said he knows it's on him to dictate his home for the 2023-24 season.
"Every player ... if you play good enough that they can't send you down then they can't send you down, and if you don't, they'll send you down," he said. "It's just great.
"I'm just trying to do as much as I can and play as good as I can and try to earn a spot. That's the main thing, just try to play my game."
