Projections on 13 yr-old phenoms??

[bobber]

Who's seen Graeme Clarke play, is he actually worthy of being talked about for exceptional status as mentioned in the 2016 ohl draft thread by a couple of posters...?

I think with these kids its better to hear from OHL scouts on whether the player is any where near exceptional status. They should be twice the player their peirs are one would think.

 

[ottawah]

Who's seen Graeme Clarke play, is he actually worthy of being talked about for exceptional status as mentioned in the 2016 ohl draft thread by a couple of posters...?

I would have to think it is a consideration. Ottawa has produced some good players, but no one that has dominated to his level.

I've seem him play a number of times. He is head and shoulders above everyone he plays in Ottawa. Generally it is not close, and certainly he is not in the right league. I would think he would not even be considered for exceptional status unless he plays Minor Midget next year, and as it stands there will be no minor midget (nor major midget) AAA or AA next year in Ottawa. He played some Major Bantam this year, and apparently was one of the very best players on the ice. But he was not dominant, which may be needed for exceptional status.


As for skills, his shot and release are already near OHL caliber, by far his best asset. His skating is quite good, but definitely not elite. Size is average, although he is quite physical. Hands and stick handling are both extremely good. Controls the puck well in traffic.

Hockey IQ and passing seemed suspect, and he seems to have a temper/attitude. That said, he did play in the wrong league, and that can easily lead him trying to do too much, becoming something of a hot dog, and being targetted so much by other teams that he has to fight back. Playing with players closer to his peer level (if he plays up next year) would be much more telling in these categories.

 

[Kathys Boss]

Update on Graeme Clarke

Ok, so it's been a while since comments have occurred in this forum. Graeme Clarke (2001) has now played a year in the GTHL as an under-aged player for the minor midget Toronto Marlboros (2000s). For those that have seen him recently during the 2015-16 season, earlier comments from a year ago like his "Hockey IQ and passing seemed suspect, and he seems to have a temper/attitude" are proven to be junk. In fact, his hockey IQ, passing and attitude are all terrific and complement his A++ shooting and scoring abilities. His full set of scoring, set-up and defensive skills even shone on the first place Marlboros, which was a team that ended up having 12 of its players selected in the 2016 OHL Draft, the most of any AAA organization in the OHF. The PIMs Clarke accumulated playing in Ottawa were clearly solely a result of him being ruthlessly targeted by opposition players and coaches who had no other solution.

You will be able to fully appreciate Graeme Clarke's exceptional talents this 2016-17 season if he returns to compete again for the minor midget Toronto Marlboros (this time with the 2001s) since he will be directly comparable against players his own age and the members of the 2017 OHL Draft class.

In the meanwhile, enjoy some fun Spring-hockey action from the 2016 World Selects Invitational in Philadelphia (Graeme scored two Michigan-style lacrosse goals on back-to-back days):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11n0QHp1YR0
I've seen this move done before, but never this fast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0grP_fmcRz4
Notice this goal was not done from standing behind the net like all of the other Michigan-style goals, but was smoothly initiated on the far side of the net and then completed without delay as a wrap around.

Coverage by The Hockey News:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/1...sse-style-goal-at-world-selects-invitational/

 

[BigHitter67]

Ok, so it's been a while since comments have occurred in this forum. Graeme Clarke (2001) has now played a year in the GTHL as an under-aged player for the minor midget Toronto Marlboros (2000s). For those that have seen him recently during the 2015-16 season, earlier comments from a year ago like his "Hockey IQ and passing seemed suspect, and he seems to have a temper/attitude" are proven to be junk. In fact, his hockey IQ, passing and attitude are all terrific and complement his A++ shooting and scoring abilities. His full set of scoring, set-up and defensive skills even shone on the first place Marlboros, which was a team that ended up having 12 of its players selected in the 2016 OHL Draft, the most of any AAA organization in the OHF. The PIMs Clarke accumulated playing in Ottawa were clearly solely a result of him being ruthlessly targeted by opposition players and coaches who had no other solution.

You will be able to fully appreciate Graeme Clarke's exceptional talents this 2016-17 season if he returns to compete again for the minor midget Toronto Marlboros (this time with the 2001s) since he will be directly comparable against players his own age and the members of the 2017 OHL Draft class.

In the meanwhile, enjoy some fun Spring-hockey action from the 2016 World Selects Invitational in Philadelphia (Graeme scored two Michigan-style lacrosse goals on back-to-back days):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11n0QHp1YR0
I've seen this move done before, but never this fast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0grP_fmcRz4
Notice this goal was not done from standing behind the net like all of the other Michigan-style goals, but was smoothly initiated on the far side of the net and then completed without delay as a wrap around.

Coverage by The Hockey News:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/1...sse-style-goal-at-world-selects-invitational/

I'm the OP of this thread and started it two years ago simply because this kid's point totals were soo far above and beyond the others at the time. Since then he has moved on to G and from what I hear, while he is certainly a projected first rounder next year no one at this point is refering to him as a..... 'phenom' if you will?. I look forward to seeing how he does next year heading into the O Draft.

On another topic, taking into account this post - and your two previous in this thread- you are almost certainly connected to the kid (likely family member?..friend/advisor?) so I will take your input with a grain of salt
And perhaps we can let this thread die now? Given it's title is over two years old and no longer accurately describes the player ie..no longer a 13 yearold phenom but rather a 15 year old top OHL draft prospect