INSIDER: Brandt Clarke Thriving In Elevated Role

Over the summer, Brandt Clarke said that he heard regularly from Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller. The theme of those conversations was excitement.

Clarke said that Hiller would routinely send him clips from the 2024-25 season, plays Clarke made that Hiller liked. Situations he was excited for the coming season. Clarke said Hiller told him he was proud of how he handled his first full year in the NHL and spoke about how excited he was for 2025-26.

Now, talk is cheap, right?

Clarke’s usage in the playoffs was that of a distant fifth defenseman. He wasn’t phased out but he also wasn’t given the minutes he hoped to have. He spoke about wanting to be relied upon more in late-game situations, but those opportunities are earned, not given and he understood that.

Coming into training camp, Clarke said that he put a lot of time this summer into his first-step quickness, something he felt was a weakness last season. Early in camp, Hiller said he saw a stronger player return to camp, on top of a faster player, compared to where Clarke was at the season prior. Quicker and stronger. Common offseason buzzwords, but during the preseason, those around him took notice.

“The first time I saw him, right before camp started when he came back from Ottawa, I told him right away he looks a lot faster than last year,” teammate Jacob Moverare said. “I think just his stride, I think he looks much faster out there and that’s huge for him, because obviously he can make a lot of players a lot of people can’t. So, if he can make moves at speed, as he can right now, I think it’ll be really for him.”

In Clarke’s case, early returns have been promising and they’ve resulted in a greater usage than we saw a season ago. Through four games, Clarke has played 64:49 at even strength, ranking second on the Kings behind only Drew Doughty. In looking specifically at 5-on-5 minutes, Clarke is third behind Doughty and Mikey Anderson.

While possession metrics can be skewed by small sample sizes, the Kings have controlled 58.1 percent of shot attempts with Clarke on the ice, which leads Kings blueliners. That percentage is over 60 when it comes to scoring chances and nearly 70 percent with high-danger chances. All of which are tops or tied for the top mark among Kings blueliners. Again, four games. But small sample size or not, things have gone well thus far.

“Personally, I’m pretty happy, I think I’ve done a lot of good things and I’m getting positive feedback from coaches and teammates, so that always goes a long way for me, I appreciate that,” Clarke said. “I still have a lot of work to do, there’s ups and downs throughout the season. It’s been a good start but I’m just trying to ride this wave for now and keep it going.”

The usage, per Natural Stat Trick, for Clarke and his regular defensive partner, Joel Edmundson, has been very interesting.

No Kings players have had more defensive-zone starts early in the season than Edmundson and Clarke have, but similarly, no blueliners have been on the ice for more offensive-zone faceoffs, either. Edmundson/Clarke hasn’t been a matchup pairing, but they’ve played pretty routinely against the opposition’s second line, with Brock Nelson, Jonathan Toews and William Karlsson the top three centers in terms of time on ice against in the opening three games.

I think what it boils down to is a commitment to play Clarke more than he did a season ago, which has been the case thus far, but also the Kings are trying to put him in positions to be successful.

I don’t think that anyone would label Clarke as a shutdown defenseman but it also needs to be acknowledged that he’s put a lot of work in on the defensive side of the puck and he’s playing with less risk at that end of the ice. He has improved his game defensively and credit to him for buying in and putting in the work. That’s not to say no risk because frankly, that would render him less effective than his ability should. There has to be an element of that in his game because it’s what makes him special. He’s found a good balance early this season.

“[The coaches] tell me when I see it, take it, and I think through [four] games, I’ve done a good job of that and I’ve also been back and not giving anything up the other way,” Clarke said. “I think that decision making has been really good for me so far. They want all of our D to pick our spots when I can and personally, I think I’ve done a good job of that. Just want to keep that going.”

Working on when to go is something I think Clarke has really taken strides on dating back even to last year.

Have to ask yourself the same question that was asked in the Girl Next Door. Is the juice worth the squeeze? If it is, Clarke knows he has the green light to go. When it isn’t, he has to understand that and sometimes, it’s the plays he hasn’t taken the risk on that have stood out this season. Because the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze and he's made the right read in not activating.

“He just needs to play his game,” defenseman Drew Doughty said of Clarke. “He’s got great offensive upside and at times, he’s going to cheat a little bit, which a lot of times coaches don’t like, but I think that’s his game and he just has to embrace it and choose the right moments to do it.”

In Game 2 in Vegas, the Kings were trailing by a goal in the third period and naturally encouraging their defensemen to advance up ice. Clarke's read and commitment scored the game-tying goal as he showcased what he can do when he activates.

Clarke showed a lot of his gifts on that play. The outlet pass to start was perfectly weighted off the wall, onto Andrei Kuzmenko's tape. Then he darted up ice to try and create an outnumbered opportunity, adding that extra player into the attack driving to the net. He showed grit by going to a dirty area and took some punishment to get the reward.

“Rather than just move the puck up, Clarkie moved it and then joined, he got himself active and that was why he had the speed to carry himself into the offensive zone and end up at the back post,” Jim Hiller said. “He has the green light to do that and that’s something that’s an opportunity, when he sees it, he’s got to go. He gives us that element. In that moment, he has to go, and it was nice to see him recognize that.”

All good things.

Now, as Clarke said, there will be ups and downs. He’s trending up right now. Working to keep that going. But every defenseman has setbacks. Especially for an offensive blueliner, the game is more open in October and November than it is later in the season. When things tighten up, the challenge will ramp up for Clarke.

Should he approach it the same way he approached summer training, the same way he approached training camp and the same way he’s approached the first four games of the regular season, there should be a lot of optimism he’ll rise to the challenge and not only continue his strong start to the season, but perhaps even enhance it.