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

[Pavel Buchnevich]

This comment is especially ridiculous when you consider that LA has the best PK and the 5th best GA/GP and these guys play well over two minutes of man down per game.

Not really. They usually almost always have a good defense. That has been their organizational philosophy forever. It's embedded in the way they play, and now they are doing it without good goaltenders either. They have a lot of good defensive defensemen. I didn't say those players are bad.

At the same time, Clarke obviously brings elements that they don't, and maybe after trying the same thing year after year the solution isn't to trade for malcontent's like PLD to fix offensive problems (20 points in 48 games for an 8.5M cap hit), it's actually to let your young players, like Clarke, off the leash and let them go.

Hughes QB's New Jersey's PP1. That was so even when they had Hamilton healthy. Hughes is on pace for 45 points and plays over 20 minutes per game. Clarke has played 6 games all year and has 1 point. Do you not see the very obvious difference between these situations? When Lindy Ruff is showing you up in developing a rookie, maybe you have some thinking to do.

 

[GaboriklessWild]

Hughes QB's New Jersey's PP1. That was so even when they had Hamilton healthy. Hughes is on pace for 45 points and plays over 20 minutes per game. Clarke has played 6 games all year and has 1 point. Do you not see the very obvious difference between these situations? When Lindy Ruff is showing you up in developing a rookie, maybe you have some thinking to do.

Hughes played in the third pair, seeing heavily sheltered minutes. Clarke had a similar opportunity, almost two minutes/game on the man advantage. Got an assist. That's it. Spence is a better player than Clarke is, and that's why he's not playing.

If we are talking about NJ and Ruff, this season shows how bad they are at developing young defenders. Nemec was their best player in the preseason, yet he was sent down to the AHL. It took almost half a season for him to be called up, and he immediately became their number one defenseman.

 

[VILARGOD]

Well troll. Can you explain in which category Clarke is going to reach the bonus level?

-10 goals
-25 assists
-40 points
-Top four in Time on Ice among Defensemen (in total and/or per game) on team (minimum 42 games)
-Top three in +/- among defensemen on team (minimum 42 games)
-0.49 points per game (minimum 42 games)
-Top two among defensemen on team in blocked shocks
-End-of Season All Rookie Team
-All Star Selection
-All Star MVP

It's funny that I'm being called the troll, I'm not the guy projecting a highly skilled 8th overall pick to be a surefire dud, 14 games in.

Just because this logic has been confirmed coming from our front office, doesn't mean I support it.

Again, you made a snarky comment about him being scratched, when he's not getting scratched based on his play. Sorry I corrected you? If you're not even willing to watch the games he plays in, why are you this invested in calling Clarke a bust? If you're not a troll....

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Didn't say they can't. They aren't difference makers. Clarke is an obvious difference maker.

You seem content with mediocrity. How have you not watched your team two years in a row eliminated in the same round by the same team with no guarantee to even make the playoffs this year and not say something needs to change? Your team is now up against the cap and no longer has a good prospect pool.

Maybe start doing something different and give a player that can change the fortunes a bigger role, and kick some of the mediocrity to the curb.

Thats such a bull, like you cant loose in the first round two years in a row. Heck, EXACTLY that happened before LA won two Cups (though i am not saying its the same situation but nobody expected anything in 2012 either).

If you think Clarke is a difference maker, just say that clearly instead of pointing out you are surprised that Roy, Gavrikov or Anderson play over 20 minutes. Now you are in deny modus again for no reason.

There are 32 NHL teams. 16 of them make the playoffs and obviously just 8 teams move on to the final 8.

Yeah all the fans of the other 24 teams are content with mediocre because they didn’t make it to the second round.

On top of that LA was missing Drew and Arvidsson two years ago. The difference between winning and loosing are sometimes very slim.

Where were you, lets say, 4 weeks ago. Its quite clear you are reading the Kings board.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Thats such a bull, like you cant loose in the first round two years in a row. Heck, EXACTLY that happened before LA won two Cups (though i am not saying its the same situation but nobody expected anything in 2012 either).

If you think Clarke is a difference maker, just say that clearly instead of pointing out you are surprised that Roy, Gavrikov or Anderson play over 20 minutes. Now you are in deny modus again for no reason.

There are 32 NHL teams. 16 of them make the playoffs and obviously just 8 teams move on to the final 8.

Yeah all the fans of the other 24 teams are content with mediocre because they didn’t make it to the second round.

On top of that LA was missing Drew and Arvidsson two years ago. The difference between winning and loosing are sometimes very slim.

Where were you, lets say, 4 weeks ago. Its quite clear you are reading the Kings board.

You know why I frame it like this? Because the bigger issue is not just the names at play in this discussion. It’s all of it. It’s Clarke, it’s Byfield, it’s Turcotte, it’s Kaliyev. This is a theme. The ones that have held up their progression are not like superstars. They are good, yet very replaceable, veterans. And if you want to say Kopitar and Doughty have held them up also then maybe we can add that they should’ve traded these players when they were in their early 30’s on a rebuilding team as opposed to succumbing to their request to speed up the rebuild, which is exactly what I mention amounts to.

Instead of giving these players that were supposed to lead them into the next era the keys to the car they put them in a seatbelt in the backseat that strangles them and embarrasses them causing people to doubt their ability when the problem is they are fundamentally being used in a way that doesn’t help the team or them. It helps a bunch of veterans eat on cookie night, as Doughty would say.

 

[GaboriklessWild]

It's funny that I'm being called the troll, I'm not the guy projecting a highly skilled 8th overall pick to be a surefire dud, 14 games in.

Just because this logic has been confirmed coming from our front office, doesn't mean I support it.

Again, you made a snarky comment about him being scratched, when he's not getting scratched based on his play. Sorry I corrected you? If you're not even willing to watch the games he plays in, why are you this invested in calling Clarke a bust? If you're not a troll....

Lmao. You made the ridiculous claim that he doesn't play to not trigger the bonuses. So I asked a simple question, in which category he would have achieved the bonus. You naturally don't answer because you have no idea what you are talking about.

Again, just because someone is drafted 8th doesn't make him a good player. If you had the brain cells to at least look at the drafts of the past 15 years, you'd realize that a significant number of the top 10 draft picks didn't become impactful NHL players, and a majority of them didn't even come close to the level of quality predicted before the draft.

I still stand by my claim that Clarke is just a poor-man's version of Ekblad. Which in itself is a red flag, as Ekblad hasn't come close to transferring his performance in the junior leagues to the NHL. So far there is nothing to suggest that I am wrong about Clarke.

Come troll me then when he plays regularly in the NHL and dominates on both ends of the ice. Right now he's just a 21 year old healhty scratch, the argument that he was drafted high and therefore will be a very good player is pretty weak. I guess you are one of those who would have rather traded Quick and kept Bernier just because he was a high draft pick.

 

[VILARGOD]

Lmao. You made the ridiculous claim that he doesn't play to not trigger the bonuses. So I asked a simple question, in which category he would have achieved the bonus. You naturally don't answer because you have no idea what you are talking about.

Again, just because someone is drafted 8th doesn't make him a good player. If you had the brain cells to at least look at the drafts of the past 15 years, you'd realize that a significant number of the top 10 draft picks didn't become impactful NHL players, and a majority of them didn't even come close to the level of quality predicted before the draft.

I still stand by my claim that Clarke is just a poor-man's version of Ekblad. Which in itself is a red flag, as Ekblad hasn't come close to transferring his performance in the junior leagues to the NHL. So far there is nothing to suggest that I am wrong about Clarke.

Come troll me then when he plays regularly in the NHL and dominates on both ends of the ice. Right now he's just a 21 year old healhty scratch, the argument that he was drafted high and therefore will be a very good player is pretty weak. I guess you are one of those who would have rather traded Quick and kept Bernier just because he was a high draft pick.

I didn't make the claim. The KINGS organization did through their beat reporter as they commonly do these days. Do you think it's impossible for Clarke to hit 10 goals? Impossible for him to go on a heater and register 25 assists in ppg fashion as he's done at every level? Whether or not they're being honest about their reasons for limiting his play, is for you to decide. One thing is obvious though, they had decided to shelter Clarke before bringing him up and they're sticking by that plan.

You're also conveniently leaving out what I had stated first, that he's being rotated in and out with Spence, which he is.

When Spence is scratched in favor of Clarke, is it because of Spence's play? Both have been good in different ways.

Yes, I am aware that many highly touted prospects don't make it. Most don't make it. I'm just not the type of guy to go around pretending I know which ones are busts, 14 games in, 20 years old, and a player who's dominated at every level. Do you know how many highly skilled players tagged with "bad skating" end up making it? Based on your comments, you'd think it was zero.

I consider that trolling. Are you an NHL scout? Or just a dude watching on your couch? In fact you don't even watch the Kings play. We have different definitions of trolls. Armchair scouts throwing around the bust label this early into a kids career is straight up trolling to me.

 

[GaboriklessWild]

I didn't make the claim. The KINGS organization did through their beat reporter as they commonly do these days. Do you think it's impossible for Clarke to hit 10 goals? Impossible for him to go on a heater and register 25 assists in ppg fashion as he's done at every level? Whether or not they're being honest about their reasons for limiting his play, is for you to decide. One thing is obvious though, they had decided to shelter Clarke before bringing him up and they're sticking by that plan.

You're also conveniently leaving out what I had stated first, that he's being rotated in and out with Spence, which he is.

When Spence is scratched in favor of Clarke, is it because of Spence's play? Both have been good in different ways.

Yes, I am aware that many highly touted prospects don't make it. Most don't make it. I'm just not the type of guy to go around pretending I know which ones are busts, 14 games in, 20 years old, and a player who's dominated at every level. Do you know how many highly skilled players tagged with "bad skating" end up making it? Based on your comments, you'd think it was zero.

I consider that trolling. Are you an NHL scout? Or just a dude watching on your couch? In fact you don't even watch the Kings play. We have different definitions of trolls. Armchair scouts throwing around the bust label this early into a kids career is straight up trolling to me.

He's getting rotated in and out with Spence, as well as the Kings threading the needle with the cap, they don't want Clarke to hit his bonuses as they're up against it. This has already been confirmed.

In other words, just another example of you opening your mouth while not actually knowing what you're talking about.

You called me clueless for not knowing that he's not playing because the team doesn't want him to meet the bonus requirements. While a basic fact check easily reveals that he has no chance for most of the bonuses, while the rest of the bonuses he would almost need to be a point per game player for the rest of the season. The reason why he has been a healthy scratch in the last two games is because Spence is a better player than him, not because of the bonuses.

And I've seen that guy play enough since he played here in Slovakia in his draft year.

 

[VILARGOD]

You called me clueless for not knowing that he's not playing because the team doesn't want him to meet the bonus requirements. While a basic fact check easily reveals that he has no chance for most of the bonuses, while the rest of the bonuses he would almost need to be a point per game player for the rest of the season. The reason why he has been a healthy scratch in the last two games is because Spence is a better player than him, not because of the bonuses.

And I've seen that guy play enough since he played here in Slovakia in his draft year.

The reason he has been a healthy scratch is because he's being rotated in and out with Spence, I guess when Spence gets scratched in favor of Clarke it's because Clarke is a better player that particular day? You're not exactly making sense. Just trolling.

And yes, I gave you the other reason that the Kings are being overly cautious with playing Clarke. No, as a matter of fact, it would not be impossible for Clarke to hit some of those bonuses, and yes, the Kings have voiced concern for that because of their cap issues. Yes, I called you clueless.

Putting you on ignore until we can actually have an in depth conversation on Clarke's NHL career. Until then this is all just bad faith trolling, and it's weird behavior to me

 

[barriers]

Brandt Clarke takes home hardware at AHL Skills with perfect performance in Accuracy Shooting, defeats brother in Puck Control race - LA Kings Insider

It was a busy night for Brandt Clarke at the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday night in San Jose, which saw him play a big role in the Western Conference defeating the Eastern Conference by competing in four events during the league’s annual showcase. Clarke opened the night by defeating...

lakingsinsider.com

 

[Guttersniped]

Hughes played in the third pair, seeing heavily sheltered minutes. Clarke had a similar opportunity, almost two minutes/game on the man advantage. Got an assist. That's it. Spence is a better player than Clarke is, and that's why he's not playing.

If we are talking about NJ and Ruff, this season shows how bad they are at developing young defenders. Nemec was their best player in the preseason, yet he was sent down to the AHL. It took almost half a season for him to be called up, and he immediately became their number one defenseman.

Nemec was sent down at the start of the season to work on certain aspects of his game (defense, PK).

Nemec took a hit to the head in the Utica season opener on Oct 13. He was out until Oct 28 and then played 12 more AHL games before being called up on Dec 1.

His first Devils game was the 22nd of the season and he’s played in 27 NHL games so far.

So I’m not so sure how this can be described as

It took almost half a season for him to be called up

unless when you say “almost” you actually mean “way less than”.

 

[Kalv]

I've been in love with this kid since he was 17. Always rooting for Clarke and deep down I think we all know he's going to be a 60+ point defenseman. What would it take for the Kings to move on from him, now that his value has taken a beating?

First sentence caught me off guard, not gonna lie

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I've been in love with this kid since he was 17. Always rooting for Clarke and deep down I think we all know he's going to be a 60+ point defenseman. What would it take for the Kings to move on from him, now that his value has taken a beating?

Honestly, what on earth are you talking about

 

[stevo61]

Honestly, what on earth are you talking about

Guessing its a troll account. All of their posts have been nonsense

 

[EddieTheEagle]

I've been in love with this kid since he was 17. Always rooting for Clarke and deep down I think we all know he's going to be a 60+ point defenseman. What would it take for the Kings to move on from him, now that his value has taken a beating?

Jokes aside, great prospect with a lot of promise. Hope to see him build upon his experience in the AHL and flourish in the NHL.

 

[barriers]

If anyone had any doubts

 

[seadawg]

Would love to see the new coach give Clarke top unit power play time, even over Doughty. I think Clarke can run the power play just as effectively as Doughty. In theory, this could keep Doughty more fresh for other parts of the game.

 

[kinghock]

Would love to see the new coach give Clarke top unit power play time, even over Doughty. I think Clarke can run the power play just as effectively as Doughty. In theory, this could keep Doughty more fresh for other parts of the game.

I think Clarke can run the power play >>> effectively then Doughty.
Doughty is not good at all running power play.

 

[bleedblue94]

how is Clarke evolving now with more time in the league?

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

how is Clarke evolving now with more time in the league?

He was healthy scratched yesterday so I doubt Kings fans are going to be thrilled with how he's being handled.

 

[bleedblue94]

He was healthy scratched yesterday so I doubt Kings fans are going to be thrilled with how he's being handled.

this isn't abnormal for young kids in their first NHL season going up and down, and in and out. his toi has increased recently though, playing over 18 mins the game prior. that is why I am asking people that are actually watching his games what they are seeing from the kid and the team.

 

[tomd]

My view is that - right now - the comparisons to Klingberg are pretty accurate. He giveth at one end of the ice and taketh away at the other. Has a chance to be very good but must clean up the play in his own end before he can be trusted to be in the lineup every night.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

how is Clarke evolving now with more time in the league?

You should see him work the popcorn machine

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

My view is that - right now - the comparisons to Klingberg are pretty accurate. He giveth at one end of the ice and taketh away at the other. Has a chance to be very good but must clean up the play in his own end before he can be trusted to be in the lineup every night.

Uh-oh. That's not good and I hate it when they start talking givethes and taketheses...hope Brandt can clean all that up and be tight.

 

[VILARGOD]

Oh boy could this have aged any worse?

Big bro.. did we just end the Devils season?? was hearing a lot of talk about how this was a must win game for the Devils