Right-winger Lane Lambert was a talented offensive player for three different clubs in the 1980s. He was a good passer who could play abrasively while assaulting the opposition's goal.
Born in Melfort, Sasktachewan, Lambert played a year in the SJHL with the Swift Current Broncos before moving up to the Saskatoon Blades. After scoring 104 goals in two seasons in the WHL he was named to the league's second all-star team in 1983 and chosen 25th overall by the Detroit Red Wings at that summer's Entry Draft.
Lambert scored 20 goals as a rookie playing with Kelly Kisio and Iav Boldirev and helped Detroit reach the playoffs for the first time since the 1978 season. His point totals and ice time dropped over the next two years before he was traded to the New York Rangers in July 1986. Lambert had trouble finding a clear role on the Blueshirts and was traded to the Quebec Nordiques for Pat Price before the March deadline.
The talented forward was initially reborn on the Nords. He recorded ten points in the last 15 games of the regular season then played 13 post-season contests as the club reached the Adams Division final. In 1987-88, he registered a career-high 41 points but dressed for just 13 games the next year.
Lambert joined the Canadian National Team in 1989-90 and scored 64 points in 54 matches. He signed on with the Dusseldorf club of Germany before spending six years in Switzerland. He retired in 1998 after playing two years for the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks.
