NHL Draft profile: Brandt Clarke

BlueJackets.com is running feature stories profiling the top nine players in our consensus poll for the upcoming NHL Draft, which is scheduled to begin Friday. Columbus will select fifth overall in the draft with the chance to add a high-level player -- likely from this group -- to the organization.
Brandt Clarke had high hopes going into the 2020-21 season, and they were dashed.
At just 17, the highly touted right-shot defenseman believed he was talented enough to qualify for Canada's World Junior Championships squad, which brought together the top U-20 talent in the country to battle in the popular tournament.

Clarke -- the No. 4-rated player in our draft consensus poll of top prospects -- thought he had showed that in 2019-20 when he posted 38 points in 57 games in his rookie season with Barrie of the OHL. But the Ottawa native didn't earn an invitation to Team Canada's camp, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
"There's bounces in life that just irritate you," Clarke said. "You're like, 'Oh wow, everyone has been pushing for me. Everyone has been rooting for me, and I'm not living up to that.' I have high expectations for myself. I expected to make that (camp). I was like, 'Wow, I'm not impressing people as much as I thought I should be.'
"So in a way I did take offense to that. I was pretty upset that I didn't make the team and I wasn't considered one of the top U-20 players in Canada, so I did use that as motivation. Right away when I didn't get the call, we were looking at teams. I wanted to go prove myself playing professional hockey in Europe."
With the OHL out of commission for what would turn into the entire season because of the pandemic, Clarke looked at teams in Sweden, Finland and Germany but ended up with HC Nove Zamky in Slovakia. It helped that the team welcomed his brother, Graeme, a 2019 third-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, as well.
The brotherly journey was cut short when Graeme ended up playing only six games there before returning to North America to suit up for the Devils' AHL team, but Brandt stayed in Slovakia for 26 games and racked up a 5-10-15 line from the blue line and finished plus-6. Brandt also did qualify for Canada's squad at the World U-18 Championship and posted a 2-5-7 line and plus-12 rating in seven games.
Clarke said the professional experience gained in Europe helped his game a ton as he goes into his draft year.
"I think my all-around game, my two-way game, my defensive style (improved)," Clarke said. "You look into the numbers, we were the second lowest budget team in the league, so we weren't the most high-powered team. We didn't have a lot of offense. We had to win games 2-1, 3-2. It was always low scoring. We were always in a fight. We had a really younger team that always wanted to prove we could hang with the guys that were like 30 and fully established in the league.
"I think my overall game was polished up pretty nicely over there because every shift, you were like, 'OK, if you make a mistake and it's in the back of your net, we don't have the firepower to come back and catch up.' Everything matters. … Yes, I am known as an offensive player, but I really think I grew in my own zone while I was over there."
If there's a knock on Clarke, it's his skating style, with some scouts unsure whether he'll be able to play fast at the highest level. Yet there's no denying Clarke is a gifted player offensively and he plays what has become a premium position in the league as a right-shot defenseman, skills that should make the No. 7-rated North American skater by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau a top-10 pick.
He said he's talked with the Blue Jackets and had a good interview with the team, but he's ready to go wherever the draft sends him.
"Any NHL team that I go to, it'll be a big day and I'll be proud to go wherever," he said.

What they're saying

Draft Prospects Hockey draft guide:
"Highly intelligent, intuitive, two-way blueliner. An elite level skater with an awkward looking stride. Has a knock-knees posture to his stride but still generates healthy speeds, and incredible edge control. … Creative offensively, and always trying to generate lanes or openings, with or without the puck, by constantly moving his feet. … Relied upon in all situations due to his IQ. Underrated defensively in his own end, improved a ton during his time in Slovakia. He takes chances offensively but plans his rushes and pinches incredibly well and shouldn't be considered a liability defensively."
HockeyProspect.com Black Book:
"Brandt Clarke is a gifted offensive defenseman who instinctively looks to attack and become the 4th forward. He's also a perfect representative for the vast majority of the top end of this draft, in the sense that he's a talented player who has a concerning limitation that has the capacity to impede his development if it's not corrected. … There's a lot of offensive upside, and plenty of drive and determination. He's a player who's learned to adapt his skating, to the point where we believe he can translate successfully to the NHL. We think that there is a chance that everything will need to go right in his development for him to log big minutes as a complete, top-pairing defenseman."
Chris Peters, Hockey Sense:
"Probably the most offensively gifted blueliner in this class, Clarke is an expert puck mover and producer who navigates the ice confidently. A lot has been made of his skating and it is warranted. His short-distance quickness and stride are going to need to improve for him to be an effective pro. However, I still think he can play the game fast based on how he processes things and his ability to spot the right plays. He moves pucks quickly and confidently, has deceptive puck skills and a good shot from the point that can sneak up on goalies."