LA Kings: Brandt Clarke is living up to the hype

The game of ice hockey should be filled with excitement and electricity. That was sometimes missing the last few seasons for the LA Kings. But over the first 11 games of the 2024-25 season, a 21-year-old Brandt Clarke has captivated Kings’ fans illuminating a dull franchise into delirium. Clarke’s box office style of play came to the forefront on Wednesday night inside Crypto.com Arena.

In the second period against the division rival Vegas Golden Knights, forward Adrian Kempe entered the offensive zone and made an area pass across the ice with Clarke on the receiving end. In one motion, Clarke executed a highlight reel spin move leaving Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, one of the top defenders in the NHL, in the dust. After the high-skilled play, Clarke, with his head up, fed Anze Kopitar with a tape-to-tape pass for an empty net tap-in for the captain.

Brandt Clarke ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/92mWeaIzqH

— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) October 31, 2024

He’s a defenseman guys. To have the wherewithal to pull off such a move in only his 36th career NHL game is laughable. The assist was one of three he finished with during a 6-3 win for Los Angeles. It’s his second three-point game of the season.

Much of the noise surrounding Clarke as a prospect since being selected 8th overall by LA in the 2021 draft, including terms like “special”, “box office”, and “a player the Kings fans have never seen before.” And so far it’s not hyperbole.

With 11 points (1g,10a) in the first 11 games of the season, Clarke is only the third LA Kings defender age 21 or younger with at least a point per game through the team’s first 11 games joining Rob Blake (1990-91) and Larry Murphy (1980-81, 1981-82).

Since 2000, only four NHL defensemen under 22 years of age have produced at least 11 points through their teams’ first 11 games, Quinn Hughes (2020-21), Thomas Chabot (2018-19), Zach Werenski (2016-17), and Erik Karlsson (2011-12).

Yet if you ask Kings head coach Jim Hiller, there’s still some polish and “risk” they want to rein in. “He’s a good offensive player there’s no question. He just has to play a complete game. We’re not going to let him go racing up and down the ice and be a point-a-game player if that’s what he ends up with. He’s just got to play the game the right way and his points will come.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Hiller not get too high on their young defender’s production. As much as management loves his offensive game, they don’t want him pressing too much at the risk of chances the other way. It’s a fair concern.

The immense offensive talent and hockey IQ is palpable in Clarke. It’ll never dissipate. And while the defensive side of his game hasn’t looked out of place in the early parts of his NHL career, fine-tuning a few things on that side of the puck can make him be that generational player the LA Kings desperately need.

Featured Image Credit: Jamie Sabau/GettyImages