D Brandt Clarke - (2021, 8th, LAK)

[LemonSauceD]

He reminds me of Tyler Myers with his poor first passes and just incessantly whacking pucks around without actually covering and controlling.

He’s definitely a work in progress.

 

[Akrapovince]

Hughes , Svozil , Nemec , Jiricek , umm might be a few others that are debatable

Yup, brain fart on my part.

 

[ponder]

A lot of negativity here, I think he’s shown both strengths and weakness. Strengths are that he’s super poised and patient with the puck, also pretty elusive with the puck on his stick. Weakness are some defensive gaffe’s, and for an offensive dman he’s a pretty mediocre skater.

He’s not killing it, but he’s had plenty of good plays to go along with some bad ones, I don’t think it was a mistake to bring him.

FWIW, he’s tied for 2nd among Canadian dmen in both +/- and points, a few mistakes in the Slovakia game don’t ruin his whole tourney.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Brandt Clarke plays the game like an elite skating defender, issue is that he doesn't have the elite skating to stay consistent at this point in time.

 

[Craig Ludwig]

The difference between him and Zellweger is staggering...Is it because Zellweger is so damn good, or Clarke not up to par. I think it's a bit of both.

 

[Remparts666]

jeez this thread is going to be fun to read in a couple of years

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

He beaver taps a lot. That's one thing I've noticed stand out

 

[wasunder]

He’s still an elite prospect, people jumping on him over a couple games. Lots of players have rough WJC. I remember this guy named Mitch Marner had a rough WJC. He’s alright now.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I think he is great with the puck on his stick has a really good shot, is an adventure in his own end. Mostly though I am just surprised by his lack of foot speed. I was expecting the skating to be a level or two above what it is presently.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

He beaver taps a lot. That's one thing I've noticed stand out

Does that annoy teammates? Whenever I see a player doing that excessively, JT Miller for example, it always annoys me and I'm a fan just watching the game from my couch.

 

[Trash Panda]

The hot takes floating around here by emotional Hockey Canada fans are pretty damned wild.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

The hot takes floating around here by emotional Hockey Canada fans are pretty damned wild.

Just wait till after tonight. JK- I really don't care who wins as long as my fantasy guys do well.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

jeez this thread is going to be fun to read in a couple of years

Please explain why? Are the faults people are pointing out unsubstantiated? If not, are they faults that are easily corrected?

 

[TheBeastCoast]

The hot takes floating around here by emotional Hockey Canada fans are pretty damned wild.

Just my honest opinion on what I have seen. I promise you I am not "emotional" you don't have to like my opinion though that is fine! I would have prefered a counter point though rather then a generalization of all critics of his game as emotional though but that may just be me.

 

[Remparts666]

Please explain why? Are the faults people are pointing out unsubstantiated? If not, are they faults that are easily corrected?

This is only my take: I have watched all games and focused a lot on him since I have him in my fantasy pool . I’ve also watched his 8 nhl games. In that regard I’m sure biased.

I think he has had a good tournament aside from 2 really bad plays against Slovakia plus a couple of bad pinches here and there . After those two very bad plays you see people coming here and shitting on him. Overall he has made an very positive contribution to the team as his usage indicates . If he was such a mess defensively , he just would not be playing top 2 minutes in the most crucial moments of the game

I don’t think there is any debate about his offensive game which is elite

Skating : not necessarily makar like but I don’t see a flaw. He sure skates with long strides. I’ve seen him catching up guys in the nhl after jumping up the play and haven’t seen him unable to catch up guys in this tournament. He sure likes to slow down the game with the puck .

Bad passes ? Low hockey iq? Come on I’m not even going to respond to that. So yeah I for one believe his game does not deserve the unsubstantiated critiques and I believe I’ll enjoy reading the thread in a couple of years .

 

[FDBluth]

He beaver taps a lot. That's one thing I've noticed stand out

Seems to be a Team Canada thing in general

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Does that annoy teammates? Whenever I see a player doing that excessively, JT Miller for example, it always annoys me and I'm a fan just watching the game from my couch.

If you do it from time-to-time I don't have a problem with, but the traditionalists state beaver tapping is a beer league move and shouldn't be done in the pros.

At the same time it's like sometimes a player doesn't know you're open, as long as you're not doing it as if you gotta finish the dam before a storm comes, or you do it every shift, shouldn't be an issue.

Might be recency bias, but last game he seemed to do it a lot.

 

[thrillhous]

As a completely unbiased observer other than being a fan of Team Canada, I can say that Clarke’s play has generally made me uneasy. It’s a real mixed bag (there has been some good to go with the bad) so it makes me clench when he has the puck or is defending in front of his net or defending the rush.

As for the stick tapping, I noticed it independent of anything on this site and it annoyed me not just for the incessant sound itself but mostly the timing of WHEN he was tapping his stick. He was calling for the puck in a number of instances where he wasn’t even open AT ALL let alone in a prime position. This suggests someone that has either an inflated view of their abilities with the puck (at least I haven’t been very impressed) or someone that is lacking in hockey IQ.

 

[3074326]

What the hell is beaver tapping? I've been a hockey fan for like 30 years and never heard of it. lol

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Please explain why? Are the faults people are pointing out unsubstantiated? If not, are they faults that are easily corrected?

At large, they are extremely hyperbolic based on quick emotional takes on a one-game sample size. You can easily tell who watched him basically ONLY the other night vs. a longer period and vs. his recent time with the Kings org.

The critiques have been consistent across leagues but the degree of them based on the other day's WJC game is lol-worthy. No IQ? No puck control? Is that defensible to you?

What the hell is beaver tapping? I've been a hockey fan for like 30 years and never heard of it. lol

Banging your stick on the ice to get a teammate to get you the puck.

He rarely did it in his NHL time but my god is he annoying with it for Canada.

 

[3074326]

Banging your stick on the ice to get a teammate to get you the puck.

He rarely did it in his NHL time but my god is he annoying with it for Canada.

Thought that might have been what it was given the context. Thanks!

 

[Szechwan]

What is with this guy? On a clear-cut 2 on 1 and rather than getting set up to take a feed from the puck carrier he has his stick 10ft in the air trying to point out a possible trailer and bobbles the pass.

I like him as a prospect but just some absolutely bizarre stuff this tourny.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I see the WJC analists are coming out in full force again.

Every year I hope these bunch somehow keep things into perspective, both positively and negatively. Unfortunately every year I am getting disappointed again.

 

[funky]

Clarke playing very well in the second. Nice passes, blocking shots. Throwing hits.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Ain't no way a player this bad went #8