The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, March 13, 2020 — 7

LAMBERT FAMILY BOND

Codie Lambert peered over the bright 
yellow railings that separated her from 
the gathering hockey players.
Seven hundred ten miles from her 
hometown, she was standing in the 
bleachers, 
watching 
the 
Vernon 
Vipers line up for their pregame 
skate.
Codie had made the long trek all the 
way from Saskatoon, Saskatchwen to see 
her little brother, Jimmy, play hockey. 
Jimmy was all about surprises — he 
had a knack for unexpected scares or 
pranks — but this time, he was on the 
receiving end. All of it — the flight, 
the trek, her presence — was done 
in secret, intended as a surprise for 
him. The siblings hadn’t seen each 
other in a long time.
And that was tough. As much 
as hockey means to him, family 
means more. It’s everything. 
Through all the ups and downs 
in his life, they’ve been by his 
side and supported him no 
matter what.
Jimmy 
playing 
junior 
hockey in British Columbia 
— twelve hours from home — 
made it tough to see family. 
As he readied himself to 
step out onto the ice, his 
sister readied her phone and 
reached over the railing, 
wanting to capture his 
reaction on camera.
“Jimmy!” she called.
And it took him a 
minute to register that 
someone had called 
his name. When he 
turned to look up — 
his face a mixture 
of disbelief and 
joy — two words 
slipped out.
No way.
***

The first three years of his life, 
Jimmy spent in England where his dad, 
Dale, played in the British Professional 
League. He would go to every one of 
Dale’s games, sit on his mom Reina’s 
lap and clutch his baby blanket that he 
called Gigi in one hand. 
Pretty soon he traded the blanket in 
for a hockey stick and strapped on a pair 
of plastic rollerblades. At just three years 
old, Lambert would skate around the 
living room, body checking any piece of 
furniture — or wall — in sight. He’d even 
make the occasional sound effect. 
When Dale retired from playing 
and the family moved to Canada, he 
built Jimmy a backyard rink. It wasn’t 
anything fancy. Just two nets, some 
mock boards and a sheet of ice he’d flood 
every day.
Everyday, Lambert would be out in 
the backyard practicing. From sunup 
to sundown on the days he didn’t have 
school. He would’ve been out there 
every hour of the day if Dale and Reina 
would’ve allowed it.
And whenever he did something he 
found particularly cool or exciting — 
whether it was stopping and making the 
snow on the ice blow or scoring a sick 
goal — he’d run inside the house to share 
the news. He wanted his family to hear 
all about it.
“In his little squeaky voice he would 
come running into the house, ‘Mom! 
Mom! You’ve got to come see me, look 
what I did! Come here! Come here!”, 
Reina said. “My husband and I were just 
like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s your turn (to go 
see).’ ”
Hockey is one of the ways Lambert 
and his dad grew to be so close. Dale 
coached him when he was younger, 
and he credits his early development as 
a player to that. But having your dad a 
coach isn’t without its conflicts.
When Lambert was six, maybe seven, 
his team was playing in a tournament, 

MOLLY SHEA / Daily Sports Writer

and he was playing forward. The 
team had a big lead. Dale asked his 
son to stop shooting the puck, a show 
of respect for the opposing team but 
Jimmy didn’t listen. The very next 
shift, he skated over the boards and 
netted another goal. 
As he made his way to the bench, his 
dad asked him what part of no more 
shooting had he misunderstood. And 
on his next shift, he skated over to 
the parents section and yelled out 
to Reina, complaining that Dale had 
told him he couldn’t score anymore 
goals.
Sixteen years later, Lambert’s 
playing hockey in the Big Ten 
for Michigan. He achieved one 
of his biggest dreams. He knows 
exactly how lucky he is to have the 
opportunity to not only play, but to 
receive an education on scholarship.
Because as much as Lambert 
loves hockey, as much as every 
opportunity to lace up his skates and 
put on the Wolverine sweater means 
to him, his family still means more.
Lambert and his dad always talk 
hockey together. When he has a 
setback or he’s struggling with his 
game, Dale is his main confidant. 
That’s his department.
On the other side is Reina. That’s 
who Lambert calls whenever he’s 
stressed about school or anything 
non-hockey related. Academics are 
really important to him, he knows 
he has to get a degree so that there’s 
life after hockey.
And his mom’s always been a huge 
supporter of his schooling.
When Jimmy was in first grade, 
he started learning how to read. But 
it didn’t come naturally to him the 
way hockey had. He struggled, so 
the teacher approached Reina about 
sending him to the resource room 
during class reading time.
At first everything was going okay. 
Then one day Jimmy went to Reina 
and confessed he really disliked 
going to the resource teacher. Some 
of his classmates were teasing him, 
and his self-esteem was wavering.
So Reina did what any mom would 
do, and hired a local university 
student studying education to help 
with Jimmy’s reading. It enabled 
him to stay in the class during 
reading time, and pretty soon his 
reading skills took off. And so did 
his self-confidence.
After that, his grades really took 
off. In order to get into Michigan, 
he had to take a full year of college 
classes his last year of juniors. He 
knows the value of the 

degree too.
When he was in high school, he 
worked at a hardware store. He’d 
hall lumber in and out of people’s 
houses all day. Every day he’d come 
home absolutely exhausted. It was 
long hours. And that’s when he knew 
he needed a plan for life post hockey.
***
In the crowd at one of his BCHL 
games, Reina noticed a little boy.
He had a sign supporting Jimmy 
and was chanting his name. It was 
the first time she’d thought about 
how her son could be impacting and 
inspiring little kids. Above being 
a good hockey player or a good 
student, it’s important to her that 
Jimmy’s a good person.
Ask any of his teammates or 
coaches and they’ll confirm it. He’s 
always trying to put a smile on 
their faces. Always working hard. 
Bringing a positive attitude.
And 
the 
occasional 
practical 
joke. Sometimes he’ll Saran Wrap a 
toilet seat. Lately, he’s been scaring 
people. His main targets are his 
housemates — particularly captain 
Will Lockwood.
“He scared me once when I was 
coming out of Yost,” Lockwood 
said. “It’s been a funny little thing 
going on at our house. He’ll hide in 
the corner, hide in the cracks of the 
basement and pop out and scare us. 
I know he got (Luke) Martin really 
good the other night, and he’ll 
videotape it so you can kinda see the 
reactions.”
Lambert’s teammates are a family 
away from home.
Back in Canada, he’s got his two 
sisters. Codie, and a younger sister 
named Cadie, making him the 
middle child. So while Codie was 
making him play house and be her 
baby — something Lambert admits 
he was pretty compliant to do — he 
was strapping pillows to Cadie and 
having her play goalie.
But beyond just playing together, 
Lambert and his siblings have a 
strong relationship. They talk at 
least once or twice a week, every day 
if you count Snapchat. 
When Codie was younger, she 
had a room downstairs. She was too 
afraid to sleep in the room alone, so 
Jimmy would stay with her. That 
made her susceptible to his pranking.
On April Fools, he’d put mustard 
in their toothpaste. Salt on their 
toothbrushes. Draw on their faces 
with markers. Sleep didn’t offer 
them safety either. Jimmy would 

wake them up just to scare them.
It wasn’t ever in a mean-spirited 
way though. 
“I’m always looking to get a smile 
out of someone,” Lambert said. “ … 
You never know someone might be 
having a little bit of a rough day, and 
if you can cheer them up by scaring 
them or giving them a little bit of a 
prank I think it could be good for 
someone.”
As uncommon as it was for 
Lambert to see his family while he 
was playing junior hockey, it’s even 
more so now. The closest 
Big 
Ten 
school 
to 
Saskatoon 
is 
Minnesota 
and 
even that’s 12 
hours 
away. 
Last year the 
family 
made 
the trip, this 
year 
they 
didn’t because 
Jimmy 
was 
out with an 
injury.
He didn’t go 
home last summer. 
He remained in Ann 
Arbor 
to 
practice 
hockey. Other than 
that, he comes home 
for five days during 
Christmas now. And 
having him home 
makes 
the 
family 
complete.
He’s a peacekeeper. 
When 
everyone’s 
gathered 
around 
the 
dinner table talking and 
an argument breaks out, 
he’s the first to interject. But 
not with a combative reply. 
Instead, he deescalates the 
situation. Asking his family 
members to really think about 
the situation and if it really 
matters that much.
Lambert’s 
always 
been the type to look 
on the positive side of 
things. In hockey when 
he’s had his struggles, 
he’s never let them get 
too far under his skin. 
“I always tell myself 
it’ll work its way out,” 
Lambert said. “If 
something’s 
not going 
right, 
just 

stick to it. Keep my nose to the 
grindstone and just always push 
forward. Never look back. What’s in 
front of me is a fresh ground and it’s 
only up to me to shape it. If I can just 
make sure that I’m always battling, 
no matter what, if it’s going well or 
if it’s going bad, just keep looking 
forward and just always battle 
through it.”
This positive mentality comes 
from his parents. Lambert uses 
them as role models for how to deal 
with hardships. He knows whenever 
something didn’t go their way, 
they kept at it. They worked 
hard. And they continued to 
work even when it wasn’t 
giving the results they 
wanted. That’s exactly what 
he did last year, and during 
his time in juniors when 

his hockey wasn’t going how he 
wanted.
It’s obvious family means a great 
deal to him. He proudly talks about 
the accomplishments of his sisters, 
and they share the same sentiment 
towards his achievements. 
Distance doesn’t affect the family’s 
bond. They’ve got a group chat, 
and it’s always buzzing. Whether 
it’s someone asking what everyone 
wants for dinner or someone’s 
sending pictures of the three pets, 
they’re always keeping up to date 
with each other.
“They’ve supported me so much 
through 
everything,” 
Lambert 
said. “Definitely can’t thank them 
enough. I definitely won’t be able to 
repay them for everything they’ve 
done for me that’s for sure.”
So no matter what happens with 
hockey, 
Lambert’s 
family 
will 
always have his back — and he’ll 
have theirs.

COURTESY OF LAMBERT FAMILY

DAILY

COURTESY OF LAMBERT FAMILY

