As expected, the Milwaukee Admirals didn’t have to look far to find their next head coach.
The team introduced Lane Lambert, an assistant with the team last season under Claude Noel, as the new coach at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Lambert was widely expected to be hired for the job.
Lambert takes the reigns after just one year as an assistant in Milwaukee, but has served previously as a head coach with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League in 2004-’05 and was an American Hockey League assistant the next season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
“We’re thrilled to have Lane with us this year and on into the future,” Admirals’ owner Harris Turer said. “He was a big part of our team this last season. We believe that we’re going to have a lot of success on and off the ice this season and into the future.”
Lambert will get to work quickly; his first task will be to hire an assistant. He’s already had a number of candidates, but expects to receive more inquires and wants to start the interview process soon, with a focus on individuals who share a similar philosophy but still provide alternative options.
“This came about fairly suddenly and it’s a process,” Lambert said. “I want to make sure I take my time -- not too much time -- to evaluate individuals that meet my needs and would be the best fit and complement me.”
He’ll also have a lot of work to do, especially trying to build a more offensive hockey team. The Admirals, while one of the better defensive teams in the AHL, struggled at times to put the puck in the net. Lambert says he already has an idea of which players parent club Nashville Predators plan to send up to Milwaukee, and is confident that there will be an offensive improvement.
“I was just in Nashville at a prospects’ conditioning camp,” Lambert said. “I saw some of the players -- not all of them -- that will be playing for us. The future looks bright and it looks like we’ll have an offensive team. That’s something that we’ll strive for.”
The hiring was done by the Predators’ hockey operations. General Manager David Poile made the decision to promote Lambert after a successful interview and getting recommendations from Noel and Turer.
“Our organizational philosophy has been to elevate those internally who have demonstrated the ability and potential to succeed with more responsibility,” Poile said. “Lane Lambert is the right choice as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals and a blue-chip prospect in the coaching ranks.”
Lambert was the second-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 1983 and scored 58 goals with 67 assists (125 points) in 283 NHL games with the Red Wings, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. He finished his playing career with the AHL’s Houston Aeros from 1998-2001; winning the Calder Cup his first season in Texas.
A 43-year-old Saskatchewan native, Lambert takes over for Noel, who left to accept a job as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.
The team introduced Lane Lambert, an assistant with the team last season under Claude Noel, as the new coach at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Lambert was widely expected to be hired for the job.
Lambert takes the reigns after just one year as an assistant in Milwaukee, but has served previously as a head coach with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League in 2004-’05 and was an American Hockey League assistant the next season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
“We’re thrilled to have Lane with us this year and on into the future,” Admirals’ owner Harris Turer said. “He was a big part of our team this last season. We believe that we’re going to have a lot of success on and off the ice this season and into the future.”
Lambert will get to work quickly; his first task will be to hire an assistant. He’s already had a number of candidates, but expects to receive more inquires and wants to start the interview process soon, with a focus on individuals who share a similar philosophy but still provide alternative options.
“This came about fairly suddenly and it’s a process,” Lambert said. “I want to make sure I take my time -- not too much time -- to evaluate individuals that meet my needs and would be the best fit and complement me.”
He’ll also have a lot of work to do, especially trying to build a more offensive hockey team. The Admirals, while one of the better defensive teams in the AHL, struggled at times to put the puck in the net. Lambert says he already has an idea of which players parent club Nashville Predators plan to send up to Milwaukee, and is confident that there will be an offensive improvement.
“I was just in Nashville at a prospects’ conditioning camp,” Lambert said. “I saw some of the players -- not all of them -- that will be playing for us. The future looks bright and it looks like we’ll have an offensive team. That’s something that we’ll strive for.”
The hiring was done by the Predators’ hockey operations. General Manager David Poile made the decision to promote Lambert after a successful interview and getting recommendations from Noel and Turer.
“Our organizational philosophy has been to elevate those internally who have demonstrated the ability and potential to succeed with more responsibility,” Poile said. “Lane Lambert is the right choice as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals and a blue-chip prospect in the coaching ranks.”
Lambert was the second-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 1983 and scored 58 goals with 67 assists (125 points) in 283 NHL games with the Red Wings, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. He finished his playing career with the AHL’s Houston Aeros from 1998-2001; winning the Calder Cup his first season in Texas.
A 43-year-old Saskatchewan native, Lambert takes over for Noel, who left to accept a job as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.
