Carson Lambos is walking into a very different kind of training camp with the Minnesota Wild.
The 23-year-old defenseman is no longer waiver exempt, which means the Wild can’t just slide him down to the Iowa Wild if he misses the opening-night roster. If Minnesota wants to send him to the AHL, he has to clear waivers first.
That’s the new wrinkle for a former first-round pick who’s suddenly at a crossroads.
Minnesota took Lambos with the 26th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, then signed him to a three-year entry-level deal. He spent two more seasons in the WHL before beginning his pro career with Iowa in 2023-24. After three seasons in the AHL, he’s reached the point where the Wild no longer have that easy roster maneuver available.
The problem for Lambos is the depth chart in front of him. Minnesota already has Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Olli Maatta, Zach Bogosian and Daemon Hunt on the blue line.
That’s seven defensemen before Lambos even enters the picture.
Unless an injury changes the equation in camp, he’s facing a steep climb to crack the opening-night group. Keeping him would likely mean carrying eight defensemen, and that’s not necessarily a move the Wild want to make when Lambos could be logging regular minutes in Iowa instead.
Even if there is an injury, that still may not open a clear runway for him. Minnesota has more depth in the system, including Viking Gustafsson-Nyberg, giving the club another recall option without creating the same roster headache.
So Lambos’ camp becomes one of the more interesting battles to track.
The 6-foot-1 left-shot defenseman has not yet locked down an NHL job. He made his NHL debut last season, appearing in one game for Minnesota, while spending most of the year with Iowa.
What keeps Lambos in the conversation is the package he brings. His skating has long stood out, and he plays with edge and effort. The questions are still the same ones that have followed him: whether his offense and overall hockey sense are strong enough to make him a regular at the NHL level.
Those questions matter even more now that waivers are part of the picture.
Being placed on waivers doesn’t guarantee he’d be claimed, especially at the end of camp when waiver wires are loaded with players fighting for jobs. But Lambos could draw attention.
He’s 23, was a first-round pick five years ago, and already has three seasons of pro experience. A rebuilding team or one looking for young defensive depth could decide he’s worth a shot.
For Minnesota, though, this is a risk it hasn’t had to seriously weigh with Lambos until now.
The Wild can still avoid the whole issue if he plays his way onto the roster in camp. But with Hughes, Faber, Brodin, Spurgeon, Maatta, Bogosian and Hunt already occupying seven spots, the path is anything but obvious.
That puts Lambos under the spotlight. For the last three seasons, Minnesota could simply send him back to Iowa. This year, if he doesn’t stick, the rest of the league gets a chance to decide his next stop.
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