Lanz was selected 7th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks following an excellent junior career with the Oshawa Generals in which he was named the club's top defenceman in three consecutive seasons.

The situation would prove doubly disappointing as he was forced to miss the Canucks' surprising march to the Stanley Cup Finals that spring.

He would follow this up with his finest NHL season in 1983–84, as he posted 18 goals and 57 points (both narrowly missing club records for defencemen) and was named the team's top defenceman.

He was especially effective on the power play, and his 14 power-play goals tied for the league lead among defencemen with Edmonton Oilers superstar Paul Coffey.

Lanz was hired as head coach of the Burnaby Express in 2004 and led the team to the Royal Bank Cup in 2006, where they were crowned Canadian Junior A Champions.

[1] Some notable players that Rick has coached are Scott Gomez, Brad Hunt, Ivan Huml, Keith Seabrook, Raymond Sawada, Mark and Mike Santorelli, Kyle Turris, Ben Walter, and Milan Lucic.