Denny Lambert (born January 7, 1970) is a former professional Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and member of the

Batchewana First Nation The Batchewana First Nation () is an Ojibwe First Nation in southern Ontario. Their traditional lands run along the eastern shore of Lake Superior, from Batchawana Bay to Whitefish Island. They were reserved this land in the 1850 Robinson Huron ...

Playing career

Lambert was drafted in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

where he played for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for three years. He then played 2 seasons in the International Hockey League with the

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before signing as a free agent with the

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of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. He then signed as a free agent with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

in July 1996, and went on to play for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

(1998-1999) and the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

. He rejoined the

(2001-2002) for his final NHL season before finishing off his career in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

with the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

. Throughout his NHL career, Lambert's primary role was that of an enforcer. The left winger played in 487 regular season NHL games, scoring 27 goals and 66 assists for 93 points, while racking up 1,391 penalty minutes.

Career statistics

Bold indicates led league

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching career

Lambert became the assistant coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the 2004–05 season, and remained in that position with the club until the summer of 2008, when Greyhounds head coach

Craig Hartsburg Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach, who currently serves as an amateur scout and defense development coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League ( ...

left the team to become the head coach of the

. The Greyhounds then promoted Lambert to the head coaching position. In his first season as head coach, Sault Ste. Marie failed to qualify for the post-season, as the young, rebuilding club finished with their fewest point total since the 1994–95 season, and finished in last place in the OHL. The Greyhounds rebounded in Lambert's second season with the team, with the help of assistant coach Mike Stapleton, as the club with an impressive record of 36–27–1–4 to finish with 77 points, and fifth place in the Western Conference. The Greyhounds faced the

Plymouth Whalers The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth Township, Michigan, Plymouth, Michigan, United States, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated t ...

in the conference quarter-finals, and lost the series in five games. Lambert returned to Sault Ste. Marie for a third season in 2010–11, however, the team fell back into last place in the Western Conference, and on January 11, 2011, the Greyhounds relieved Lambert of his duties. Sault Ste. Marie had a record of 14–21–5–0 at the time of his firing. Lambert went on to be a First Nations Police Officer with the Anishinabek Police Service. He graduated from the Ontario Police College in November 2012. He was hired as an associate coach by the

Gatineau Olympiques The Gatineau Olympiques are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Centre Slush Puppi ...

of the QMJHL in 2016.

Coaching record

References

External links

*
Soo Greyhounds official web site
retrieved 2007-10-28 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Denny 1970 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Baltimore Bandits players Canadian ice hockey left wingers First Nations sportspeople Ice hockey people from Ontario Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators players Ottawa Senators players People from Algoma District San Diego Gulls (IHL) players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds coaches St. Thomas Wildcats players Undrafted National Hockey League players Canadian ice hockey coaches Batchewana First Nation people