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By Sam Laskaris
Windspeaker Contributor
GATINEAU, QUE.
Denny Lambert thought he was simply showing up to Ontario’s Wikwemikong First Nation this past weekend to participate in a charity hockey match. But as it turned out, Lambert got a lot more than he bargained for.
Lambert, an Ojibwe who has been living in the northern Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie, was one of several Indigenous people that had played in the National Hockey League that took part in Saturday’s fundraiser.
A conversation that evening with John Chabot, another former NHLer, put the wheels in motion for Lambert to land a coaching gig.
Chabot informed Lambert that the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was seeking a coach to add to its bench staff.
A few days later, Lambert, who appeared in 504 NHL matches with four different franchises, was introduced as the Olympiques’ associate coach. He’ll be helping out another former NHLer, Eric Landry, who is Gatineau’s head coach.
“Through some connections and luck, it was good timing for both sides,” Lambert said.
In what proved to be quite a twist, an expired passport also played a huge role in the fact Lambert landed the Olympiques’ gig.
That’s because earlier in January he had accepted an assistant coaching position in the minor pro ranks with the Texas-based Allen Americans of the East Coast Hockey League.
Lambert had been crossing into the United States in recent times by car and simply by showing his Secure Certificate of Indian Status, more commonly known as a Status card. But when he tried to fly to Texas to join the Americans, he discovered his passport had expired.
Though he did apply for a new passport and was expecting to head to the ECHL once it arrived, Lambert opted to accept the Gatineau position instead.
He said the fact the Olympiques’ job was closer to home did not play a factor into his decision. But he did like the appeal of working in Gatineau, which is separated from the nation’s capital only by the Ottawa River.
When he played in the NHL, Lambert had spent two seasons with the Ottawa Senators. Plus his wife Rhonda had attended the University of Ottawa.
For now, Lambert’s wife and the couple’s teenage twins, Denver and Chase, will remain in Sault Ste. Marie. After completing their current academic year, the twins, who will turn 17 next month, have one more year of high school studies remaining. They are both expected to leave home and attend a Canadian university after that.
Lambert is uncertain how long he will be with the Olympiques. That’s because both he and Landry, who was promoted from associate coach and named Gatineau’s head coach on Jan. 23, have not been told whether their services will be required past the end of the current season.
“If we do a great job, we could be there even longer,” Lambert said.
He joins a Gatineau squad that has struggled this season. The team is sporting a 20-26-4-0 record and is sitting in 15th place in the overall standings of the 18-team league. The top 16 finishers advance to the playoffs.
Lambert will make his debut on the Olympiques’ bench on Feb. 3, during Gatineau’s home contest against the Val-d’Or Foreurs. Gatineau has 18 regular season contests remaining.
Though he will be new to the QMJHL, Lambert is no stranger to junior hockey. He had spent eight seasons working as a coach with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Lambert joined the Greyhounds in 2003 and spent his first five years with the club as an assistant coach. He then served as the squad’s head coach for three seasons.
Most recently Lambert had been working as the director of hockey operations for The TECH 1921 Ltd.This company oversees the running of the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and is also scheduled to open a hockey academy later this year.
Now that his own children are older, Lambert felt the timing is right to resume his coaching career.
“My boys will be graduating soon and moving on,” he said. “It’s a good time to get back to coaching. I’ve got a goal and a dream to return to the NHL as a coach.”
Besides playing in Ottawa, Lambert also had NHL stints with the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers, who relocated to Winnipeg in 2011.
In his 504 NHL games Lambert earned 94 points, including 27 goals.