Joe Patarino After being omitted from prior World Junior Championships, LA Kings prospect Brandt Clarke finally got the chance to represent Team Canada at the prestigious tournament. With a huge thank you to the tracking work done by Mitch Brown and Lassi Alanen and InStat for the video clips, we will dive into how Clarke performed in his seven games.
For starters, I’ll give my personal opinion on how Clarke looked in this tournament. Admittedly, I am a big fan of the modern-day defenseman who is willing to get involved offensively, and Clarke did just that. We’ve talked at length on the Hockey Royalty Podcast about his deficiencies in the defensive zone and with speed coming at him in transition. Those flaws also showed up in this tournament; however, for me, what he brought offensively far outweighed what he struggled with defensively.
He was arguably Canada’s best defenseman and among the best on the blueline in the tournament.
Now, what do the numbers say?
Offensively, he was about as good as it gets. He was an elite passer in the offensive zone and excellent with zone entries. But as we see, it wasn’t all roses. As good as he was offensively, he struggled as much defensively. What stuck out to me are his Entry Prevention and Retrieval Success rate. To me, those are directly a result of his feet. It’s been something of note for a while now and is probably a big reason why he isn’t in the NHL currently.
This is a failed retrieval that leads directly to a goal.
This next clip is admittedly toward the end of a shift, but, an example of Clarke not handling the speed coming toward him, leading to extended time in his own zone.
Now, for some evidence of his offensive prowess, he was second among all defensemen in the tournament in Expected Primary Points at 5-on-5.
Here is his goal against the United States. There is no hesitation on his part in jumping into the slot. He read the play perfectly and, unlike a lot of defensemen, has the offensive instincts to get himself open immediately:
Whether off the rush or in-zone, he was as impactful as any defenseman in Halifax.
One thing that sticks out to me when watching him is just how calm he is with the puck. This is an excellent example in the neutral zone against Germany. He doesn’t connect on the pass, but I love his patience with the puck.
But as we mentioned, it wasn’t all good news. We see here his struggles defensively, both against the rush and in-zone.
Here are a couple of examples of some struggles in the D zone. First, he overcommits behind the net, abandoning his assignment in front:
Next, the poor puck management in the Gold Medal game, which led to the tying goal:
I’ll add I think it’s noteworthy that Team Canada Head Coach Dennis Williams never hesitated to put Clarke right back on the ice after a mistake. In the Gold Medal game, he was on the ice nearly every other shift in overtime. That’s a lot of trust to put in a defenseman who has some risk to his game in a 3-on-3 environment.
So how should LA Kings fans feel about Brandt Clarke’s performance and development to date?
I’ve talked on the podcast that I did not like the idea of the Kings stringing out his stay in the professional organization just to get him in the World Junior tournament. To me, it was a lose-lose (from an optics/developmental standpoint). If he “dominates,” he was supposed to, and if he struggles, he would get beaten up for it. I think if you do a Twitter search, you’ll probably find plenty of negative comments about his defensive play.
For him personally, the experience had to be great. Obviously, winning the gold medal and him contributing to the golden goal had to feel especially good for someone who was snubbed in the past.
I didn’t see any surprises one way or the other from Clarke. In fact, I think The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler summed up his play perfectly:
Played with a ton of confidence. Rose to the moment. Chose his spots on when to take space with or without the puck inside the offensive zone. Disallowed goal for offside on a blast from the point that would have added to his totals. There were times when he was overthinking it, or a little sloppy defensively, but that comes with the territory with him. Canada’s most active defenseman inside the offensive zone, even more so than Zellweger. A few really nice stretch passes that he recognized early. Loves the moment and the stage. Fearless. Thought he was tremendous in the gold medal game in every moment but the Czech second goal.
While the needle doesn’t move significantly up or down for me after a seven-game tournament, he solidified himself as the LA Kings’ top prospect. I think he’s an NHL-caliber defenseman, but by the time you’re reading this, he may have already been sent back to the OHL.
(Main Photo Credit: Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press)