Calgary Flames: Former notable fourth-round picks

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BOSTON, MA – MAY 24: Mark Lamb #7, designated co-coach John Muckler and Kelly Buchberger #16 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate with the Stanley Cup in the locker room after the Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals on May 24, 1990 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /

Number Five: C Mark Lamb, 1982

Mark Lamb was drafted back in 1982 when the Calgary Flames were only in Calgary for two years at the point. He was taken in the fourth round at the 72nd overall pick, which in today’s NHL, would be in the third round. Lamb was playing in the WHL at that time with the Billings Bighorns where he put up 45 goals and 101 points in 72 games in his draft year.

Fun fact: Lamb’s son, Hunter Lamb, is eligible for the draft this year and will be playing in the AJHL this upcoming season.

Calgary Flames /

Calgary Flames

The following year, Lamb played for two different WHL teams and played for the Colorado Flames of the CHL in the playoffs. In 1984-85, he played his first pro season, playing for the Moncton Golden Flames, Calgary’s AHL affiliate at the time. He put up 23 goals and 72 points in 80 games. The following year, he made his NHL debut with the Flames, but played in just that one game and returned to the AHL. He was picked up by the Detroit Red Wings the following year.

In 1987, he was picked up by the Edmonton Oilers. He went between them and their AHL affiliate before landing a permanent role on their roster in 1989-90 where he won his first ever Stanley Cup.

Never being that offensively gifted in the NHL, Lamb wasn’t protected in the expansion draft in 1992, and was picked up by the Ottawa Senators.

At the start of the 93-94 season, Lamb was named a co-captain of the Senators with Brad Shaw. After that, he played a few more seasons in the NHL for a couple of different teams before finishing his playing career in the IHL.

In 2002, Lamb retired and returned to the Oilers as an assistant coach. After that year, he spent six seasons with the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach. In 2009, he was named the GM/head coach of the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL, where he held that position for six years. Then in 2011, he was an assistant coach for Team Canada’s U18 team.

In 2016, Lamb was named head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, the Arizona Coyotes‘ affiliate, but was relieved of duties after just one season. He hasn’t coached since 2017.

So what’s the moral of the story here? Well, even if you’re not that exceptional of a scorer, you can still win a Cup if you play with the right team.

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