What to Expect from Wright and Clarke at the World Juniors Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0NDMxMjYwMTA4NTMxMzc3/usatsi_19227456.jpg] The past four months have been surreal for Brandt Clarke. On top of fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming an NHL defenseman, the eighth overall pick in the 2021 draft now has Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar — who captured two Stanley Cups while Clarke was a preteen – as teammates. And now, the 19-year-old is in Atlantic Canada preparing for the World Junior Championship, a tournament he followed closely growing up but missed out on last summer as a player. “I feel like I would have been a top player last year, but that’s not the path they wanted to take,” Clarke told The Hockey News last Friday. “I made it a goal that I wanted to make the NHL team out of camp this year, and that’s what I did. I took it the right way, and now I’m back here, getting an opportunity on this stage to show what I can do, and I think I’m going to do that.” What to Expect from Wright and Clarke at the World Juniors So far, he's enjoying his time in the NHL. Alexander Edler, a veteran of nearly 1,000 games who's 17 years his senior, has been his most frequent defense partner. And hey, T-shirt weather in December isn't all that bad. “It’s everything I could have ever hoped for,” Clarke said. “Everyone has been so welcoming to me. I don’t feel excluded at all. Guys like Doughty, (Kevin Fiala), (Philip Danault) and Kopitar talk to me all the time. I just feel like one of the guys.” Clarke – the NHL’s second-youngest defenseman [https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/nhl/stats/2022-2023?position=d&age=u20] this season – lives with Jonathan Quick, his wife Jaclyn and their three kids. “I don’t think there’s a better guy to live with,” Kings defenseman Sean Walker said. “He’s got a great family, and they’re taking care of him – I think it’s been a good experience for him.” Clarke is closer in age to Quick’s kids – aged 12, 10 and two – than he is to the 36-year-old netminder. “The kids are great. I hang out with them all the time,” Clarke said. “We have a hockey net set up on the patio. Me and Carter (the middle child) mess around with it. I go goalie, and he shoots at me.” But while this past fall has been monumental and memorable for Clarke, it’s also been challenging. After suiting up for eight of the Kings’ first nine games, Clarke – who has recorded two assists in nine NHL games – has dressed just once over Los Angeles’ last 20 games and was sent to the AHL's Ontario Reign for a five-game conditioning stint. “There’s a lot of little things that go into being a professional hockey player in the NHL and realizing how hard this league is,” Edler said. “I think the biggest challenge as a defenseman is consistency. A lot of that comes with experience.” Clarke understands that. “Some guys go through this when they’re 23 or 24. I’m breaking into the league at 19, so I feel like I’m ahead of the curve at the moment,” Clarke said. “But yeah, It’s definitely a change from playing 27 to 28 minutes a night in Barrie (last season) to watching consecutive games in the press box.” As Team Canada's world juniors selection camp approached, it seemed like a no-brainer for the Ottawa native to be loaned to the Canadian squad. For any player in the same sort of limbo that Clarke is in – too good for the CHL, unable to go to the AHL for longer than a conditioning stint and struggling to get consistent minutes at the NHL level – the World Junior Championship is a tremendous opportunity. “When this tournament is over, I’m going to head back (to Los Angeles) and try to stake my claim as a solidified player in the top six.” - Brandt Clarke Clarke — who The Hockey News ranked as the 40th best player aged 21 and under in the recent Prospects Unlimited issue [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription] – has that ‘wow’ factor to him. “He’s got an unreal skill set, an offensive mind, very creative, almost an artist-like mentality when he’s on the ice,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said [https://lakingsinsider.com/2022/12/07/la-kings-loan-brandt-clarke-to-team-canadas-national-junior-team/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CHe%27s%20got%20an%20unreal%20skill,of%20Clarke%20yesterday%20in%20Ottawa.] on Dec. 6. The 6-foot-2 blueliner looks poised to head a star-studded Canada team that includes two of his best friends, Shane Wright and Brennan Othmann. The three played together for the Don Mills Flyers – with Clarke moving to the Greater Toronto Area to live with his grandparents and play in the renowned GTHL – before their junior careers began. Clarke said those years with the Flyers made for some of his fondest memories playing the sport. “It was a cool feeling to find out I’m going to go back and play with my friends that I haven’t seen in a while,” Clarke said. “I was very excited to get that news. I talked to Trent Yawney, our 'D' coach with the Kings, and he thinks this is the best possible path for me at the moment and will be great for my development and confidence.” It should be a part of his hockey career he won't forget. Clarke, like many players, said he watched the tournament religiously growing up. When the 2009 world juniors took place in his hometown, he went to every one of Canada’s games – meaning he saw Jordan Eberle’s game-tying goal [https://youtu.be/R8v8C3scwvg]against Russia live. “The atmosphere there was electric, and I’m hoping for a similar experience in two weeks,” Clarke said. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0NDMxMzk1MTMxNjMxMjgx/usatsi_19310313.jpg] Clarke said after the world juniors, the plan, as far as he knows, is for him to return to the Kings. The Kings could opt to assign him back to the OHL's Barrie Colts after the tournament, and if they do, his entry-level contract will slide another year. Clarke is aware he still has lots to prove. He’s got his sights set on proving to the Kings' management that he’s far superior to those in his age cohort and then building off that in the NHL. “I said this to (Kings GM Rob Blake), and I said this to (McLellan); when I get back in the lineup – I’m going to take that opportunity and run with it,” Clarke said. “When this tournament is over, I’m going to head back there and try to stake my claim as a solidified player in the top six.”
