Students enrolled in the Algoma District School Board's Hockey Canada Skills Academy had a special visitor at The Rink at the Train Station outdoor skating facility Wednesday.
Denny Lambert, former Soo Greyhounds player and coach and former NHL player, spent the day skating with students and participating in a question and answer session during the lunch hour.
Born in Wawa, Lambert lives in the Sault, is a member of Batchewana First Nation and currently serves as a Batchewana First Nation Police Service constable.
He also coaches the U16 AAA Soo Junior Greyhounds.
“This is a great opportunity for student athletes,” Lambert said of the Hockey Canada Skills Academy during an interview with SooToday.
Hockey Canada Skills Academy is a nationwide program established in 2001.
Locally, students in Grades 7 through 10 from White Pines, Superior Heights and Korah spend the early part of each school day improving their hockey skills at the John Rhodes Arena or NCC, earning both a physical education credit and an academic credit.
Lambert played left wing for the Soo Greyhounds for three seasons beginning in 1988.
After three seasons in the minors, Lambert made it to the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks in 1994.
He later played for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers before leaving the league in 2002.
Lambert became the Soo Greyhounds assistant coach in 2004 and was the team’s head coach for three seasons beginning in 2008.
Reflecting on his long and varied career in hockey to date, Lambert looks back on his seasons in the NHL with pride.
“It was the biggest highlight to play my first game in the NHL. I scored my first NHL goal with Anaheim on my first shift and with my first shot on Bill Ranford of the Edmonton Oilers. It came from a pass from Shaun Van Allen to me in the slot. I just took a one time shot and went in. It was great.”
Making it to the NHL - and prior to that, the Greyhounds roster - wasn’t easy for Lambert.
“Coming from a smaller town like Wawa was hard. I had to try to break into the age group that was already formed here in the Sault. It was hard to break in but through perseverance, never giving up, never quitting, I made it to the Greyhounds. I was proud of myself for doing that.”
That same determination got him to the NHL.
“I would have liked to have been drafted to the NHL but I never was. I called teams for tryouts. It was just a matter of ‘keep trying.’ There were times I wanted to quit but I didn't and I'm thankful for that because I ended up playing 500 games in the National Hockey League.”
His advice for student athletes wanting to make it big in hockey or any other field of endeavour?
“I strongly believe in the word discipline,” Lambert said.
“If you have discipline in your life, a good work ethic and good common sense, I think you can do whatever you want. Never quit, never give up on yourself, always believe in yourself, but discipline is a key word for me. If you want to be an athlete, or a successful lawyer, doctor, school teacher, whatever, you have to be very disciplined and give up a lot of other things in other areas.”
He loves coaching.
“You get to share your experiences and the knowledge you have because you’ve played the game. In every situation that you see, in what players are going through, you know what it's like because you have been there as a young kid and as a young adult and then as an NHL player. You understand these kids and you can relate to what they're going through. So it's pretty nice to be able to give back to them.”
Lambert was joined by fellow hockey players Jeremy Stevenson and Jeff Toms at Wednesday’s ADSB Hockey Canada Skills Academy event.
Stevenson, an Elliot Lake native, played left wing for the Soo Greyhounds in 1993-94 and went on to play in the NHL, the minor leagues and Europe.
He is now a Sault Police Service sergeant.
Toms, born in Swift Current, Sask., played centre for the Soo Greyhounds for three seasons beginning in 1991 and, like Stevenson, played in the NHL, the minor leagues and Europe.
He is now a Sault Fire Services firefighter.
“I’m having a lot of fun with the Skills Academy,” said Colin Mann, a White Pines Grade 9 student.
“I'm getting a lot more time to work on my skills and getting better at the sport I love. I've noticed a big difference in my skating and shooting from when I started compared to now.”
Mann said it’s his dream to make it to the NHL.
The Skills Academy is also a hit with educators.
“All my friends say ‘why wasn't this around when we were young?’ said Steve Caruso, ADSB Hockey Canada Skills Academy principal.
“It's not always about getting to the NHL. Some of these kids never played hockey before and now they’re good enough to play house league or AA hockey. They're getting better at their hockey skills. They have a passion for hockey and they get to do it during the school day. And, if they go on to NHL hockey that’s great,” Caruso said.