Prospect Info: At 8th Overall the Kings Select Brandt Clarke

[YP44]

Disappointed and it does mean he is probably not ready for the nhl.

I agree, and that is ok. LA is fortunate enough right now that they can let him cook longer in the CHL. why rush him when LA is likely to waive a decent d man already.

 

[Surf Nutz]

I agree, and that is ok. LA is fortunate enough right now that they can let him cook longer in the CHL. why rush him when LA is likely to waive a decent d man already.

I almost wish he could go play in europe again for this season.

 

[Statto]

It depends on how his training camp goes. If he looks ready he will get up to 9 games and then they can decide. If he’s doing well I think they likely spread out his games co he hits 9 games at around the 15 game mark. If he’s killing it he will stay up and they move someone. I doubt anything is set in stone.

 

[TruKingFan]

It will really force Blake’s hand if Clarke shows he belongs after TC and the 9-game tryout to make room for him in the roster. I still think he goes back to juniors and call him up when that seasons done.

 

[johnjm22]

Fanbases always overrate their own prospects and we're no exception.

I don't have much of an opinion on Clarke myself, I like what I've seen, but I've been skeptical of the praise that's by lapped on him around here.

 

[tbrown33]

Fanbases always overrate their own prospects and we're no exception.

I don't have much of an opinion on Clarke myself, I like what I've seen, but I've been skeptical of the praise that's by lapped on him around here.

A defensemen with Clarke's production profile has turned into a star producer at an 81% rate, and there was no falloff in his D+1 year

 

[johnjm22]

A defensemen with Clarke's production profile has turned into a star producer at an 81% rate, and there was no falloff in his D+1 year
View attachment 574704

That's great to hear.

His production is definitely fantastic. He was one of 3 OHL dmen to score at a PPG pace, and the other 2 were 20 year olds.

I've just seen us get excited about CHL guys so many times and have them usually not amount to much. I'm jaded.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Clarke could set the all time pre season scoring record and still get sent back to juniors. Assuming everyone is healthy and signed, the D depth chart is as follows…

Doughty
Roy
Walker
Anderson
Edler
—-
Durzi
——
Moverare
Bjornfot
—-
Spence
Clarke
—-
Grans
Kim the Finn

To get the 9 games, Clarke will need to put up points and pray for a rash of injuries. But he’s 19 yo, and guys like Glenn Murray have never seen it happen.

 

[Sol]

Clarke could set the all time pre season scoring record and still get sent back to juniors. Assuming everyone is healthy and signed, the D depth chart is as follows…

Doughty
Roy
Walker
Anderson
Edler
—-
Durzi
——
Moverare
Bjornfot
—-
Spence
Clarke
—-
Grans
Kim the Finn

To get the 9 games, Clarke will need to put up points and pray for a rash of injuries. But he’s 19 yo, and guys like Glenn Murray have never seen it happen.

To give my take this is how I’d put the chart

I’d remove Edler and Walker out of the first tier and replace them with Durzi and Bjornfot

Second tier would be Clarke and Spence

Grans Edler and Walker

I don’t see Edler and Walker as part of the present and future team which is why they fall to where I have them

 

[Fishhead]

Hell yea, Clarke compares with Slaney! One of the all time AHL greats.

 

[Sol]

I don’t remember seeing a prospect like Clarke on the internet before. Some places say he will be great and other places make him sound like he’s extremely overrated. So weird.

 

[Herby]

I don’t remember seeing a prospect like Clarke on the internet before. Some places say he will be great and other places make him sound like he’s extremely overrated. So weird.

Hockey scouts and executives and in a lot of cases the fans are the most risk-averse people in the world, compared to football and basketball it is night and day.

In hockey evaluation your weaknesses or perceived ones are greatly magnified while things you may do spectacularly well are overlooked.

It didn't matter that Kopitar had size, skill, speed, game sense and attitude or that he had played well in an established league. It was that SLO in the birthplace column. If it had said SVK or SWE someone takes a shot earlier, 100%. He had no business going anything below 2.

It didn't matter that Quinn Hughes had Nicklas Lidstrom level game-sense paired with top notch skating. He was a 5'10 defenseman and that scared enough people to let the best player in the draft fall to #7.

It didn't matter that Cole Caufield had an arsenal of shots that rivaled Brett Hull's and was going to be one of the best shooters of the puck the moment he stepped in the NHL. He was 5'7, so was DeBrincat but it didn't matter, he was still passed over by a bunch of guys who had no business going before him.

It didn't matter that Kaliyev had many of the similar traits to Caufield, an ability to shoot the puck at an elite level, heck he even was a big kid. But there were rumors that Kaliyev might be 20 and/or might be on the spectrum. That is all it took for a player who should have been top 20 lock to fall top the 2nd round.

These guys picking the Canadian Junior team are cut from the same cloth, they will just look at what Clarke does wrong, some of his gun-slinger decisions as well as his odd skating stride and hold it against him while ignoring his offensive contributions. Then give canned hockey cliche quotes about "needing to make the smart play"

Keep in mind these are the same type of people who draft guys like Derek Forbort, Johnny Beecher and Max Jones in the 1st round.

Clarke will be a welcome addition to a defense that has been looking for a player like him for quite awhile. He will make mistakes a long the way and the people who used to post clips and criticize every time Karlsson would make a gaffe will have to accept a player like that on the Kings and will hopefully realize if the positives outweigh the negatives, which I think will be the case.

The organization needed a Brandt Clarke.

 

[Statto]

It didn't matter that Kaliyev had many of the similar traits to Caufield, an ability to shoot the puck at an elite level, heck he even was a big kid. But there were rumors that Kaliyev might be 20 and/or might be on the spectrum. That is all it took for a player who should have been top 20 lock to fall top the 2nd round.

If AK is on the spectrum and hockey is his ‘thing’ it’d be a huge development advantage. I’ve seem hid interviews and it did not jump out at me tbh. My kids are both ASD and I’ve got some formal education in the area but I’m not expert. It’d be great if he was though.

 

[KingsHockey24]

I don’t remember seeing a prospect like Clarke on the internet before. Some places say he will be great and other places make him sound like he’s extremely overrated. So weird.

I've done a lot of scouting over the last 16 years of following the Kings.

If my calculations are correct Clarke should end up projecting to be a Jamie McBain-like player.

 

[Schmooley]

I've done a lot of scouting over the last 16 years of following the Kings.

If my calculations are correct Clarke should end up projecting to be a Jamie McBain-like player.

If they passed on Cossa/Wallstedt for a McBain type its an L

 

[Sol]

Hockey scouts and executives and in a lot of cases the fans are the most risk-averse people in the world, compared to football and basketball it is night and day.

In hockey evaluation your weaknesses or perceived ones are greatly magnified while things you may do spectacularly well are overlooked.

It didn't matter that Kopitar had size, skill, speed, game sense and attitude or that he had played well in an established league. It was that SLO in the birthplace column. If it had said SVK or SWE someone takes a shot earlier, 100%. He had no business going anything below 2.

It didn't matter that Quinn Hughes had Nicklas Lidstrom level game-sense paired with top notch skating. He was a 5'10 defenseman and that scared enough people to let the best player in the draft fall to #7.

It didn't matter that Cole Caufield had an arsenal of shots that rivaled Brett Hull's and was going to be one of the best shooters of the puck the moment he stepped in the NHL. He was 5'7, so was DeBrincat but it didn't matter, he was still passed over by a bunch of guys who had no business going before him.

It didn't matter that Kaliyev had many of the similar traits to Caufield, an ability to shoot the puck at an elite level, heck he even was a big kid. But there were rumors that Kaliyev might be 20 and/or might be on the spectrum. That is all it took for a player who should have been top 20 lock to fall top the 2nd round.

These guys picking the Canadian Junior team are cut from the same cloth, they will just look at what Clarke does wrong, some of his gun-slinger decisions as well as his odd skating stride and hold it against him while ignoring his offensive contributions. Then give canned hockey cliche quotes about "needing to make the smart play"

Keep in mind these are the same type of people who draft guys like Derek Forbort, Johnny Beecher and Max Jones in the 1st round.

Clarke will be a welcome addition to a defense that has been looking for a player like him for quite awhile. He will make mistakes a long the way and the people who used to post clips and criticize every time Karlsson would make a gaffe will have to accept a player like that on the Kings and will hopefully realize if the positives outweigh the negatives, which I think will be the case.

The organization needed a Brandt Clarke.

Very well said

 

[All The Kings Men]

It didn't matter that Kaliyev had many of the similar traits to Caufield, an ability to shoot the puck at an elite level, heck he even was a big kid. But there were rumors that Kaliyev might be 20 and/or might be on the spectrum. That is all it took for a player who should have been top 20 lock to fall top the 2nd round.

I ask this not to suggest it's not true but because I'm genuinely very curious to see...

is there any record of those rumors? Any articles or scouting reports that point to these rumors?

EDIT: Cus this is the first I'm hearing of anything like that around Kaliyev but very much NOT the first time I've heard this type of thing about a prospect

Edit 2: AND WHILE I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THIS ABOUT KALIYEV BECAUSE IT'S IRRESPONSIBLE TO SPECULATE ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS WITHOUT EVIDENCE..... it's a decent reminder that the conversations around here about why some guys thrive and some guys struggle isn't always about what happens ON the ice and there can be VERY COMPLICATED situations playing out in private

 

[King'sPawn]

I ask this not to suggest it's not true but because I'm genuinely very curious to see...

is there any record of those rumors? Any articles or scouting reports that point to these rumors?

EDIT: Cus this is the first I'm hearing of anything like that around Kaliyev but very much NOT the first time I've heard this type of thing about a prospect

Edit 2: AND WHILE I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THIS ABOUT KALIYEV BECAUSE IT'S IRRESPONSIBLE TO SPECULATE ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS WITHOUT EVIDENCE..... it's a decent reminder that the conversations around here about why some guys thrive and some guys struggle isn't always about what happens ON the ice and there can be VERY COMPLICATED situations playing out in private

Herby can correct me if I'm wrong, but mostly I just heard this type of nasty stuff about him on the Internet (here, Reddit, or other forums), but people would say they heard it from others. No reputable scouting service would post anything like that though.

A post about his "real age". It's mostly a joke but cites the rampant speculation:


There is no specific, word-for-word, "on the spectrum" speculation. But people alluded to different personality issues because he was socially awkward, particularly in interviews. Damien Cox, cited in the Reddit post above, also suggested he's not a good person as the reason he fell, because "teams know."

Please know I'm not saying it's credible or I believe it. Just that the cruelty of the Internet contributing to irresponsible speculation.

 

[tny760]

man that diatribe gets funnier every time i read it

 

[Statto]

Herby can correct me if I'm wrong, but mostly I just heard this type of nasty stuff about him on the Internet (here, Reddit, or other forums), but people would say they heard it from others. No reputable scouting service would post anything like that though.

A post about his "real age". It's mostly a joke but cites the rampant speculation:


There is no specific, word-for-word, "on the spectrum" speculation. But people alluded to different personality issues because he was socially awkward, particularly in interviews. Damien Cox, cited in the Reddit post above, also suggested he's not a good person as the reason he fell, because "teams know."

Please know I'm not saying it's credible or I believe it. Just that the cruelty of the Internet contributing to irresponsible speculation.

Thanks that’s interesting.

I have no view if he is on the spectrum. Although, I’d love it if he were because it would fly in the face of many of the badly construed views and assumptions of people that are.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Thanks that’s interesting.

I have no view if he is on the spectrum. Although, I’d love it if he were because it would fly in the face of many of the badly construed views and assumptions of people that are.

I definitely wouldn't speculate on that.

I'd say, though, he's absolutely socially awkward, and I'm sure some of the 'good ol boys' club didn't like that in interviews. And you can see it in clips with the team/other kids, I remember last offseason when they had Turcotte et. al. shuttling around Manhattan Beach and you can see Alex trying to be super inclusive with Arty, it was really endearing.

Can't find that one, can only find the bday video haha.

 

[Statto]

I hope Turcotte makes it because he will be the glue guy.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I hope Turcotte makes it because he will be the glue guy.

provided health, I don't see any way he's not an NHLer. It's his ultimate ceiling we disagree on. But the dude has every tool to be at least a third liner right this minute. But even in that role he could be a great leader.

 

[All The Kings Men]

I was aware of the outrageous (but amusing) Kaliyev birther conspiracy "theory" and I had heard the "doesn't play defense/skate hard/win board battles/pass the puck" stuff before as well but had never heard even the faintest whisper of the other subject

That's very very strange


this industry is a weird one and the number of people you can encounter at every level that will profess to know what they're talking about because they talked to someone else that professed to know what they're talking about is kind of amazing....

Only marginally related but when I see "prospect rankings" that relies on "conversations" with "scouts" or "industry insiders" I frequently find myself remembering that just because someone is a scout or insider or well placed source.... doesn't mean they have any idea what they're talking about.


Food for thought.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

Who gives a shit if he is on the spectrum? Who cares what Drew’s home life consists of? I sure as hell don’t give a shit what any of their favorite clothing companies are! Too much information.