WHL Stars & NHL Debuts: Lambos impresses in first NHL spin
Columbus, Ohio- Basking in the glow of a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, Vladimir Tarasenko put it best as he addressed the Wild locker room and dished out the team’s redwood hat to Minnesota’s player of the game.
“A lot of great performances every night, the hat can go to anybody,” Tarasenko said. “But there’s only one first NHL game.”
So it was a beaming Carson Lambos who got the honour in front of his new teammates.
NHL debut ✅
THE HAT ✅ pic.twitter.com/GVPnvcjAFN— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 19, 2025
The 22-year-old defenceman skated to a +1 rating in 10:16 of ice time, while registering a shot and a block to help Minnesota sew up a third straight win.
“Lambo played awesome,” star blueliner Brock Faber said afterward. “He made plays. He was poised under pressure. He’s strong. He’s a great skater.”
Wild Head Coach John Hynes was similarly effusive about the Winnipeg product’s performance.
“I thought it was a good first game for him,” the Wild bench boss told reporters. “I thought he had strong details to his game. He skated well. Strength-wise, he looked good. I thought he played a simple, reliable, good first game. And I think the encouraging things were, you know, his skating – he’s got pretty good size for a young kid- he’s got good strength on it, and it didn’t seem like he was overwhelmed by the circumstances. So that was good to see.”
The 6-foot-1, 193-pound rearguard was originally selected by the Wild with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Lambos came up with the then-Winnipeg ICE, wearing a letter in three of his four full seasons, including the ‘C’ in his final campaign, which saw the ICE reach the 2023 WHL Championship Series.
He erupted for 22 goals and 73 assists for 95 points in his final two seasons, snagging WHL East Division First Team All-Star honours in 2022 and helping Canada to a gold medal at the 2022 World Junior Championship.
He’s now in the midst of his third professional season, having plied his trade with the AHL’s Iowa Wild after graduating from the junior ranks. He even earned a call-up to the Wild in January of 2025 to gain valuable experience around the team, but didn’t get to make his debut.
Lambos has five points (2G-3A) in 26 AHL games this season, with, hopefully, more to come with the big club.
The Wild will look for a seventh consecutive win when they host Lambos’ old ICE teammate, Matthew Savoie, and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, December 20.
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