Kings Loan Brandt Clarke to Team Canada For 2023 IIHF World Juniors

The LA Kings have loaned defenseman Brandt Clarke to Canada's National Junior Team for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship that will be hosted by Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick from Dec. 26, 2022 through Jan. 5, 2023.
Clarke, 19, opened the 2022-23 season with the Kings, tallying two points (0-2=2) in nine appearances. The 6-2, 185-pound defenseman made his NHL debut Oct. 13 against the Seattle Kraken and registered his first career NHL point on Oct. 20 in Pittsburgh to become the seventh youngest defenseman and 18th youngest skater in Kings history to record a point at 19 years and 253 days old. Clarke also skated in five games with the Ontario Reign, the Kings' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), where he registered two points (1-1=2).
Selected eighth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Clarke spent two seasons with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), collecting 97 points (17-80=97), 67 penalty minutes (PIM) and a plus-5 rating in 112 career OHL contests. During his rookie season with Barrie in 2019-20, he posted 38 points (6-32=38) to lead OHL rookie defensemen in points and assists (32) and rank second in goals (6). Clarke served as team captain during the 2021-22 campaign, where he led all Barrie skaters in assists (48) and points (59) in 55 games and was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team.

The Nepean, Ontario native has represented Canada on the international stage twice, most recently at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship where he tallied seven points (2-5=7) and a plus-12 rating, helping lead Canada to the gold medal and being named to the tournament's all-star team.