Round 1, Pick #8: BRANDT CLARKE

Like that Kevin Weekes just said talking with a competitor of Clarke they couldn’t get a body on him or stop. Solid selection at this point.
 
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Thanks Vegas for the links! Kings got a solid guy. Good luck and interesting kid. IIRC, The Athletic had a nice bio story on him going to Europe to play when the CHL shut down.
 
Solid pick, hopefully playing pro in Europe accelerates his progression. Looking forward to seeing him in camp.
 
Man his strides are weird looking. His edge work and shiftiness, and general gap control/movement seem pretty good though. If im not mistaken, Duncan Keith had the nickname of Bambi, and all i can think of with this guy is that he looks a bit like a baby deer (or giraffe) learning to walk...
 
One of the guys on ESPN said he had some immaturity issues. Anybody know the story on that?
 
Summarizing here, but I've read some articles and scouting reports that theorize Clarke might actually be better at defending while skating FORWARD alongside the attacking forward, rather than backwards, due to his awkward and overly wide stance. Kid has issues pivoting, and is going to get burned in a league where nearly everyone can skate at a high level, unlike lesser euro and junior leagues.
 
Not sure how you can pass on a turnkey winger for QB that could be ready as soon as next year. Still missing that speedy, shifty, elite skill winger.

This kid is a project...seems to have the same defensive issues as Helge Grans.
 
Helvetica said:
Man his strides are weird looking. His edge work and shiftiness, and general gap control/movement seem pretty good though. If im not mistaken, Duncan Keith had the nickname of Bambi, and all i can think of with this guy is that he looks a bit like a baby deer (or giraffe) learning to walk...
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Well, yeah, his skating is the knock on the kid. Needs to work on it. Great awareness, though. Very impressive in that regard. Doesn't panic with the puck, smooth, is able to make the right read quickly and has the skill to act on it. Hockey sense you just can't teach.
 
santiclaws said:
Well, yeah, his skating is the knock on the kid. Needs to work on it. Great awareness, though. Very impressive in that regard. Doesn't panic with the puck, smooth, is able to make the right read quickly and has the skill to act on it. Hockey sense you just can't teach.
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And at least one scout who saw him in person said his skating looks much better in person than on video.
 
The obvious choice according to Pronman. Obvious is good.
Chalk one up for GM Potato
 
Whatever his skating issues seem to be, it didn’t stop him from being a top 10, or even top 5, draft prospect. I like him. I don’t know if any of our defensive prospects have the same kind of playmaking ability that he does.
 
stadlere said:
One of the guys on ESPN said he had some immaturity issues. Anybody know the story on that?
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I think that had to do with him being upset about not being invited to team Canada camp one year. Another year he was and excelled.
 
santiclaws said:
Well, yeah, his skating is the knock on the kid. Needs to work on it. Great awareness, though. Very impressive in that regard. Doesn't panic with the puck, smooth, is able to make the right read quickly and has the skill to act on it. Hockey sense you just can't teach.
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Yeah I had only really seen comments that his skating needed work. Hadn’t really watched any video before he was picked. It’s a really awkward stride though. Hope he can get that fixed. But he does seem to pivot and adjust well, at least based on the 5-10min of highlights I watched.
 
Pickle_Pucks said:
Not sure how you can pass on a turnkey winger for QB that could be ready as soon as next year. Still missing that speedy, shifty, elite skill winger.
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Because you draft the player you project as the best NHLer?
 
I am really excited about this kid.
Even though his stride looks a little goofy looking, he gets to where he needs to be no problem. And those hands....
 
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