D Brandt Clarke - Ontario Reign, AHL (2021, 8th, LAK)

[Frolov 6'3]

Tell me what team would not want a 68-point player, let alone 22-yo defenseman…

Real dumb take, my friend. Quinn is a special player, whose career is just getting started.

Clarke could be a better player one day, but that would be a pretty amazing feat in itself.

Who said anything about not wanting a 68 point player. I was surprised it took this long and you deserve a price IMO. Nothing about my quote was a dumb take, you are just butthurt but we have enough of those already around here.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

Who said anything about not wanting a 68 point player. I was surprised it took this long and you deserve a price IMO. Nothing about my quote was a dumb take, you are just butthurt but we have enough of those already around here.

Who ever said Hughes was the 2nd coming? He’s a top 10 dman in the league with upside. King fans should be ecstatic if Clarke becomes as good as Hughes is right now.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I still like John Carlson as a comp for him I went and saw him at development last week and you can tell he sees the ice at a different level and is able to completely control the tempo. I've heard Klingberg as another comparison but I think Brandt will be much better on the defensive side. Bummer he's not left-handed otherwise he'd be our best Ld and easily make the team this year.

Physical tools remind me a LOT of Klingberg, but we haven't had a prospect with that kind of on-ice brain/vision since Doughty. You know when a guy looks special, or when he has 'it.'

I'd be surprised if he didn't get his 9 games.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Bouchard level sounds about right, maybe Klingberg if he develops correctly. We'll see how the Kings organization develops him.

If there's ONE thing in this org I'm not scared of, it's our development of defensemen. Between that and his natural/latent abilities, It's smart to bet on Clarke.

If only they could manage forwards the same way!

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Who ever said Hughes was the 2nd coming? He’s a top 10 dman in the league with upside. King fans should be ecstatic if Clarke becomes as good as Hughes is right now.

The person i responded on, at first. Next time you could read what has been said.

Regarding Clarke nobody said a thing about that. He could be the next bigger version of M-A Bergeron.

 

[EnglishJet]

Thanks for all the replies, glad to hear he’s still as well thought of around here. He was my number one last year, but fell to 8 and then there seemed to be such a downswing in opinion, i wondered what I had missed.

When do think he’ll be in the NHL? I have him as 9 gamer this year, fulll-time 23-24, but would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Thanks for all the replies, glad to hear he’s still as well thought of around here. He was my number one last year, but fell to 8 and then there seemed to be such a downswing in opinion, i wondered what I had missed.

When do think he’ll be in the NHL? I have him as 9 gamer this year, fulll-time 23-24, but would love to hear your thoughts.

People were reaallllly hung up on his skating, but literally everything else is great

Sounds like the right timeframe, imo...the Kings looooove their vets and RHD is their biggest position of strength right this moment. Clarke is the kind of guy you make room for but they already started to do that moving Faber and next up they'll have ot make decisions behind Doughty on Roy-Walker-Durzi-Grans-Spence-Clarke. Thats why I say he gets 9 this year but forces the issue next year--some of us think he actually had the inside track LAST year but got sick and hurt like every other Kings blue chipper

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Brandt Clarke vs. Hockey Canada

 

[Gliff]

Who's daughter did he stand up?

 

[Random Comment]

Something definitely happened between him and Hockey Canada. No excuse not to have best offensive D on the roster.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Something definitely happened between him and Hockey Canada. No excuse not to have best offensive D on the roster.

He’ll be on the team in December - just not good enough to beat out the 02’s.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Something definitely happened between him and Hockey Canada. No excuse not to have best offensive D on the roster.

Zellweger is on the roster

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Something definitely happened between him and Hockey Canada. No excuse not to have best offensive D on the roster.

Best defenseman period.

 

[Hinterland]

Something definitely happened between him and Hockey Canada. No excuse not to have best offensive D on the roster.

Maybe for fairness reasons since Switzerland left off their best 2. Seriously though...lots of dumb people in charge of those junior teams. They also left Othmann off the original team. It's incredible.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I said back when he got the invite that they only did it to say they invited him and never had any intention of keeping him but I didn't think they'd actually follow through

 

[KingLB]

Zellweger is on the roster

Exactly…if he can make the roster anyone can…

 

[Jukurit]

So, what is Clarke's biggest weakness?

 

[GermanSpitfire]

So, what is Clarke's biggest weakness?

His defensive game and skating

 

[Jukurit]

His defensive game and skating

Interesting. I would assume those are the reasons why he didn't make Canada's WJC team.
Another question: How much are his defensive deficiensies due to his skating? Does he struggle keeping up with other team's players when defending?

 

[BondraTime]

Maybe for fairness reasons since Switzerland left off their best 2. Seriously though...lots of dumb people in charge of those junior teams. They also left Othmann off the original team. It's incredible.

Who was Othmann replacing on the original team? Him not being there originally was extremely normal, good players always get left off at 18.

Every single member of the original team was scoring at about the same/better level aside from Cuyelle, and were for the most part 19.

I said back when he got the invite that they only did it to say they invited him and never had any intention of keeping him but I didn't think they'd actually follow through

They invited him to the 2023 summer camp, which had nothing to do with the 2022 team. Nobody involved on the 2022 team, guys on the team in December or guys slated to join, took part in the camp.

It was the usual WJ summer cam for 2023, for 03’s and 04’s, that Clarke took part in.

 

[docbenton]

I don't think he has defensive deficiencies at all, he's excellent with his stick and has outstanding hockey sense and gap control. It's weird how similar he is to Klingberg, who in his prime was a great all round player on a rock solid Dallas defense. He looks the exact same on the ice, the way he skates and uses his edges and how he uses dekes and head fakes. He would be by far the best defenseman on the team.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Interesting. I would assume those are the reasons why he didn't make Canada's WJC team.
Another question: How much are his defensive deficiensies due to his skating? Does he struggle keeping up with other team's players when defending?

The guy is better defensively than Luke Hughes. He's not weak defensively by any stretch of the imagination. It's just not on the same plane as his offensive game.

As far as the skating goes, it's ugly but it's not ineffective. He's not Tomas Holmstrom skating back there.

 

[bsu]

From the Athletic:

Brandt Clarke, RHD, Los Angeles: I want to preface this one before Kings fans come at me with knives by saying I think Clarke is very good, I think he’ll make the 2023 world junior team and I thought he played well at this camp. His skill and vision are obvious and he was able to make a lot happen, especially in the offensive zone. That being said, for a former top-10 pick in his second U20 camp, I wasn’t blown away by his play. His skating still looks quite rough. His defending is good when he can anticipate a play, but when he needs to start chasing or is under pressure he gets into trouble. As one NHL scout told me, “He was good, but I didn’t think he looked like a guy who was a lock to make the team.”

 

[JohnLennon]

From the Athletic:

Brandt Clarke, RHD, Los Angeles: I want to preface this one before Kings fans come at me with knives by saying I think Clarke is very good, I think he’ll make the 2023 world junior team and I thought he played well at this camp. His skill and vision are obvious and he was able to make a lot happen, especially in the offensive zone. That being said, for a former top-10 pick in his second U20 camp, I wasn’t blown away by his play. His skating still looks quite rough. His defending is good when he can anticipate a play, but when he needs to start chasing or is under pressure he gets into trouble. As one NHL scout told me, “He was good, but I didn’t think he looked like a guy who was a lock to make the team.”

Really sounds like it all comes down to his skating. Even then, I am still shocked he can't make that team after the season he just had.

 

[Leviathan899]

Where do we see this guy projecting in the NHL? I've read the second coming of Q. Hughes or Hedman down to maybe he can be Bouchard; where are falling on him here?

I think Clarke ultimately is going to struggle to reach the level everyone expects him to reach, he’s very smart and skilled, has good offensive vision but his skating will hold him back imo. Not many elite D in the NHL that skate like him. I do think he’ll play in the league but I don’t think he’ll be as impactful as people think. He’a smart but he’s not on the level of someone like Adam fox that can make up for average feet and mobility. I hope I’m wrong as I’ve liked him back to his don mills days.