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[ICE24]

If Clarke shows up to camp with the same body style he had in Ontario, might as well keep him in Ontario. I don’t care how talented we think he is, he needs to rapidly bulk up. I do expect him to be focused and hopefully he will have a strapping body.

 

[Clif]

The AHL was so good to Turcotte.

 

[Statue4Deano]

If Clarke shows up to camp with the same body style he had in Ontario, might as well keep him in Ontario. I don’t care how talented we think he is, he needs to rapidly bulk up. I do expect him to be focused and hopefully he will have a strapping body.

Quinn Hughes is 5’ 10” 180. He just scored 92 points in the regular season and 10 points in 13 playoff games for the Canucks. Brandt will be fine.

 

[ICE24]

Quinn Hughes is 5’ 10” 180. He just scored 92 points in the regular season and 10 points in 13 playoff games for the Canucks. Brandt will be fine.

He's no Quinn Hughes, however, I hope he can manage. I watched that Firebirds playoff series and he was getting abused. I believe management made it clear what he needs to do to play with the Kings.

 

[Bollocks]

He's no Quinn Hughes, however, I hope he can manage. I watched that Firebirds playoff series and he was getting abused. I believe management made it clear what he needs to do to play with the Kings.

"He's no Quinn Hughes"? Well, he's 3,5 years younger and has 1/20th of NHL experience. That doesn't mean that physically Quinn was in a much more comfortable and safe place when in his rookie season.

Yeah, Brandt is lankier, which means he will have to bulk up, and he will have to work on his awareness so he doesn't get hit every 30 seconds. I don't see this as difficult to achieve for him though...I mean, nobody LIKES to get hit into oblivion and no young player LIKES being lanky and weak. And he has elite offensive hockey sense, so it shouldn't be impossible for him to be more aware of incoming hitters. I don't think it's necessary and not even optimal that he does this development in the AHL, however. He's talented enough to be thrown into the fairly deep end and not cuddled like a baby. It's not like he's going to be asked to play as a #1 D-man on this team straight out of training camp...

 

[DryKing]

"He's no Quinn Hughes"? Well, he's 3,5 years younger and has 1/20th of NHL experience. That doesn't mean that physically Quinn was in a much more comfortable and safe place when in his rookie season.

Yeah, Brandt is lankier, which means he will have to bulk up, and he will have to work on his awareness so he doesn't get hit every 30 seconds. I don't see this as difficult to achieve for him though...I mean, nobody LIKES to get hit into oblivion and no young player LIKES being lanky and weak. And he has elite offensive hockey sense, so it shouldn't be impossible for him to be more aware of incoming hitters. I don't think it's necessary and not even optimal that he does this development in the AHL, however. He's talented enough to be thrown into the fairly deep end and not cuddled like a baby. It's not like he's going to be asked to play as a #1 D-man on this team straight out of training camp...

I agree that the AHL would hinder his progression, at this point, as he has too much talent for that league. Even if he is able to fill out this summer and add muscle, however, he is going to get leveled at the NHL level and leveled often until he able to rotate his vision between where the puck is / play is developing and the general area of ice around him. When comparing him to Quinn Hughes, I think Hughes entered the league a few steps above in this category likely because he was considered small for leagues prior to the NHL and had already had to work on it.

Clarke will be fine given time, it may just be a bit of a humbling process at the beginning (which may be a good thing in itself). Filling out/adding muscle is the safety net, but the vision/awareness is what is going to get him through his career as he likely should never be able to out muscle most players without there being a negative impact to his overall game.

 

[dannybuoy1]

It's time to sink of swim with the post-Kopitar/Doughty era. Kempe, Fiala and Byfield need to be the 3 best players on the team next season. Spence and Clarke need to show that someone will be ready to accept the torch whenever Doughty is ready to hand it off. My money is on Clarke having a breakout season.

Completely with you. Not biblically though.

 

[orpheus]

What's funny is that even if you are super pessimistic about the upcoming season, if your team gets out of the gate awful, you might still manage to feel surprised, lol.

 

[Earl]

That's what they will have to focus on, along with general fitness level and adding muscle.

That's the benefit of such a talented player. He can focus on those things primarily, in order to survive, all while already having the ability to make an impact, at least offensively. That's a luxury many other prospects don't have...

The problem I see isn't really adding muscle or his fitness level but his awareness as in the OHL he was probably the best skater and could get out of trouble but he got hit a fair amount in the AHL and I'm curious to see how he reacts the first time Tom Wilson has him in his sights.