It has been an interesting first full season in the NHL for Brandt Clarke. The Los Angeles Kings first round pick from the 2021 NHL Draft started the season really fast and had a much bigger role than the team really envisioned.
However, the injury to Drew Doughty in the preseason required the coaching staff to shuffle their pairings and Brandt Clarke ice time was on average over 18 minutes per game through the first two months of the season.
One of the reasons it was so exciting for him to be with the Kings was that he brings an offensive skill set that no other defensemen on the Kings roster has. That skill set was on full display as he had 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists) through the first 11 games.
However, after that first month Clarke was not nearly as effective and his production and his time on ice steadily decreased. By the end of January, when Doughty returned he was a non-factor as he was being a healthy scratch when everyone was healthy. There is no question that it was confusing as Clarke was definitely one of the six best defensemen on the roster and the Kings were struggling to generate offense at that time.
Brandt Clarke is playing a different game for the Los Angeles Kings
After the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Kings seemed to reset the pairings and Brandt Clarke was back with Joel Edmundson, who he was paired with earlier in the season. This was a great move and Clarke has been playing excellent hockey over the past 20 or so games.
After the game against the Avalanche, both Brandt Clarke and Jim Hiller spoke about what has changed with the young defenseman's game. The focus has been understanding the risk and reward during the course of the game and understanding that just because Clarke can chase a puck, it might put him out of position and not be worth the pay off.
Clarke was asked about trying to find that balance between risk and reward and according to Zach Dooley said:
"They obviously want me to use my abilities the best I can. They want me to have the puck on my stick, they want me to make plays, but it’s down to the risk and reward factor. If I step up for a play that might be 50/50, just to win a puck battle and chip it back in, instead of giving up something the other way, that’s just not worth it. That’s something they’ve told me to do and I think that’s something I’ve had really good decision making with. I’m happy with how I’m doing. When I see holes like that, I want to take advantage, but I just take it as they come."
When asked about Brandt Clarke, head coach Jim Hiller had this to say:
"It’s difficult to make plays as a defenseman, offensively this time of the year, but we saw tonight, and this is the beauty of the game, he makes a great play on Laf’s goal, he gets an assist. He makes a really good play on Kopitar’s goal and doesn’t get an assist. Well in our books, we account for it a little bit differently and we respect the play he made there. Equally as important, if I take you back to the three and a half on one, he read the play, Kempe chased the puck, Brandt went back inside and ended up blocking the shot, that was a really-good chance in the second period, equally as important as those offensive plays he made. That, to me, is where the growth in his game is. You get it on both sides and now you really start to contribute to the team."
The play by Brandt Clarke on the Alex Laferriere goal was certainly one of his top plays of the night but those defensive plays he can make, like the one Hiller notes, are sometimes forgotten because they don't end up in the box score.
Laf gets the go-ahead! pic.twitter.com/d4dOgctCqc
— x - LA Kings (@LAKings) April 12, 2025
As Clarke enters his first NHL playoff series, it is going to be important to calculate the risk and reward of plays because he (and the Kings) can't afford for him to be out of position and give the opponent quality scoring chances.