Prospect Info: Adam Kleber, RD, Lincoln (USHL), (Minnesota-Duluth Commit) 42OA, 2024

[Chainshot]

Adam Kleber.

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[Chainshot]

EF - #45:

As a 6-foot-5 right-shot defenceman, don’t be surprised if Adam
Kleber goes 20 spots earlier than where we’ve ranked him – and that
would be a reasonable call. He blends shutdown skills with a modern
approach, bringing both certainty and upside to the mix.
With agility, reach, and details, Kleber’s a formidable defender. He
angles opponents to the outside and times his pokes just as they
expose the puck. He has the range to switch between high, low,
and off-puck coverage with ease. Smooth, powerful pivots catch
attackers off-guard and he even gets recovery stops. He’s physical,
yet rarely chases or ends up in the box.

 

[Ehran]

6'5" 214 lb RHD.

Huh.... but can he play?

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

Like that Adams is loading up the RHD in the pipeline

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

exactly what we were looking for

expecting people to hate this pick

 

[truthbluth]

Can’t say I’ve ever seen him play. Like the scouting report a lot. Sounds a ton like Elick.

 

[CowbellConray]

Potential Cernak type player without all of the physicality

Good value pick

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I like it.

 

[Jim Bob]

Adam Kleber - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Adam Kleber, 2006-03-24 Chaska, MN, USA USA. Most recently in the undefined with Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

And he’s headed to UMD for college.

 

[Matt Ress]

Always need this guy in the system

 

[Chainshot]

Black Book had him at #72 on their list:

Starting with the positive: His skating is much improved from a year ago, both in terms of the mechanics and the output. His lateral mobility creates a ranginess that is difficult for forwards to negotiate. The three-point flexion improvements are fuelling a more explosive and efficient stride. At the top end, he has really nice extension allowing him to get to a notable top speed when joining the rush. Having a skating base like this on a 6’5”, 207 pound frame while also being aright-handed shot automatically puts him on the radar. He’s a rudimentary puck handler who lacks puck poise still. There are a lot of heavy puck touches in a small puck control window. His passing and pass catching under pressure is largely unimpressive, but when he has his feet moving and there’s an obvious, direct pass that can be made, Kleber is capable. He puts pucks towards the net instead of fiddling around at the attack line, but he is generally not a threat to score from distance. There’s some physicality mixed in there, but Adam doesn’t seem naturally mean. He does understand what it means to focus on the chest of the opponent that’s near the net and remove the opponent from that spot, certainly. Watching Kleber this season is fascinating because no one can predict what you’re going to get. We’ve tried to pin it down and find some pattern in the behaviour, but we just can’t figure out the algorithm to his random stylings. Now, that’s not to say that it’s all bad. There are games where he sits back and manages the ice fairly well and gets pucks out and gets off the ice. Then there’s a large number of games where he just sort of does his own thing all over the defensive and neutral zones. For starters, he’s a very loose gap player. It’s likely that he hasn’t updated his play style to account for his improved skating, but he’s going to want to. He allows some rubbish plays to fester for too long because of his spacing and gap management.

 

[Chainshot]

Entry preventions.... nice.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

He's got a pretty quick release for a big guy

 

[Sabre the Win]

If he becomes a tough player, heavy hitter I can call him Kleber Lang

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Black Book had him at #72 on their list:

Chaos Kleber

 

[BowieSabresFan]

So if he’s 6’ 5”, does that mean we’re 4 inches over average after 2 picks? That’s good, right?

 

[Fjordy]

Looks logical, i'm fine

 

[Chainshot]

FloHockey quick hit vid:

 

[is the answer jesus]

I like it. We needed a guy like this I'm the pipeline.

 

[Zman5778]

A large defense-first RHD? Yes, please.

 

[Chainshot]

Dobber's write-up:

April 2024 – Adam Kleber profiles as yet another one of the big, rangy defensemen in this year’s draft, but he comes with a lot of added benefits. He’s a good skater, has some very surprising small area handling skills, he’s a good breakout passer, remarkably accurate in the offensive zone, and good at defending the rush, and that’s just the start. Kleber’s defensively intelligent and generally plays with that strength, but is no slouch offensively and is willing to get aggressive when the situation calls for it. The overall lack of speed and really high-end skills might limit him going forward, but there’s a lot to like in Kleber as the top 6 defenseman he projects as now and he has a very real path to some second pairing upside. David Saad (April Rankings: 64th)

 

[Zach716]

6’5 RHD, we’ll take it!

 

[Chainshot]

 

[sabremike]

6’5 RHD, we’ll take it!

 

[Chainshot]