San Jose Sharks
Get to Know Lambert, Nazar, Lekkerimaki, Kemell, Savoie Off the Ice
With the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in less than a handful of weeks, the San Jose Sharks have undoubtedly already looked at all of the available players as much as they can regarding their on-ice performances. How about we continue looking at some of the potential future Sharks on dry land?
This is the middle installment of a three-part series, looking at three groups of NHL draft prospects that the San Jose Sharks can pick up in the 11th selection.
The first group was the do-everything, all-around forward — Marco Kasper, Danila Yurov, and Conor Geekie. We introduced you to these guys off the ice here:
Today, we’ll get to know the more offense-leaning, high-skill forward group — Brad Lambert, Joakim Kemell, Matthew Savoie, Frank Nazar, and Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
Finally, there are defensemen Kevin Korchinski, Pavel Mintyukov, and Denton Mateychuk.
Brad Lambert is a 6-foot tall, 183-pound Finnish forward.
“He’s really, really talented,” an NHL scout told San Jose Hockey Now. “I think he just does everything his own way.”
Did you know Lambert has both Canadian and Finnish citizenship? But he plays for Finland internationally.
You probably know his uncle, Lane Lambert, was recently named the new head coach of the New York Islanders? Yes, the Islanders did speak with Brad at the NHL Combine, per Eyes on Isles.
If you take a peek at Lambert’s social media, he seems to be all hockey all the time, however, it’s clear he likes to share snippets that stand out to him throughout his hockey journey.
Yes, that’s uncle Lane Lambert in the middle!
Joakim Kemell is another high-skilled Finnish forward, whose “shot is his calling card and he seems to find the most success when shooting one-timers,” per Josh Tessler of Smaht Scouting.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Kemell has spent the majority of the season in Liiga with JYP, and it seems he has no problem sharing glimpses of his life off of the ice on social media.
Google Translate says that the caption reads “Small canoes” so, hey at least he’s creative?
However, his tape job (or lack thereof) needs to be discussed.
Matthew Savoie is the younger brother of Edmonton Oilers prospect Carter Savoie, but the 5-foot-9, 179-pound Matthew has had all eyes on him heading into the 2022 NHL Draft. Savoie spent the season with the Winnipeg ICE of the WHL, a team that dominated the WHL throughout the regular season.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic recently described Savoie, saying: “He does an excellent job creating plays to the slot out of traffic. He’s a burning skater with explosiveness that allows him to win races, separate in transition, and put defenders onto their heels, or dash through holes in coverage to the net (or draw a penalty).”
He’s a self-proclaimed “pretty big movie guy” per this chat he had with Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News. Savoie also stated in that sit-down that something by Rihanna would be his guilty pleasure song and that’s something everybody can get behind.
He’s also into video games:
Matthew and Carter Savoie shared their favorite drills two years ago. Wonder if they’ve found new favorites…
Did you know Matthew Savoie shares his name with an American Olympic figure skater?
Speaking of Americans, Frank Nazar is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward, committed to the University of Michigan. You know, that NCAA team that just seems to be the landing spot for USNTDP alumni?
Wheeler had some high praise for Nazar, saying of him: “He flashes creativity throughout his game. He plays pucks into space as well as anyone in the draft, regularly executing through tight gaps in coverage.”
Nazar’s got confidence and he’s vocal about it.
Frank Nazar said he thinks he’s still underrated and is out to prove a point. #NHLCombine pic.twitter.com/4zTaJSVNHW
— Mark Scheig (@markscheig) June 4, 2022
Speaking to Ferrari and The Hockey News, Nazar mentioned that it would be cool to be Batman in the DC Universe, but mostly because he wouldn’t want to deal with Thanos in the MCU. Hmmmm.
He knows how to have some fun too! In the second to last photo in this set, Nazar is piecing together a gingerbread house with a couple USNTDP teammates.
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to be part of this team, Nazar and the guys make it look so fun!
Jonathan Lekkerimaki is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound Swedish winger, whose “clear strength of his game is his shot,” according to Corey Pronman. Judging by Lekkerimaki’s Instagram, he’s all about that hockey — he has seven posts up and they’re all business — but he’s tagged in a couple of fun posts.
Here’s Lekkerimaki recently, having a Draft preparation dinner with his agent Gerry Johansson and former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Mikael Tellqvist:
And nothing cuter than shots of these future NHL stars as kids — here’s Lekkerimaki five years ago, as posted by fellow top prospect Noah Ostlund:
Come for the U18 IIHF World Champions photo, stay for William Eklund’s comment of “Lekkishow”:
Of course, “Lekkishow” and top San Jose Sharks prospect William Eklund were teammates in Djurgardens.
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