New Jersey Devils Draft Profile: Graeme Clarke

The New Jersey Devils made three picks in the 3rd round of the NHL Draft. The most intriguing of those picks might be Graeme Clarke.

The New Jersey Devils took a 1st-round talent when they selected Graeme Clark in the NHL Draft. Obviously, something is severely missing from his arsenal, because he fell all the way to the Devils at #80. He spent a lot of last season behind much more established players. He ranked 9th on the 67s with 34 points, but only one player younger than him was ahead of him; Marco Rossi.

What’s surprising is Clarke’s 34 points includes 23 goals. He’s clearly has a goal-scoring touch, and that was his focus this past season. Now, he can expand his focus this season with a new role expected in Ottawa.

Clarke would do best in a top-six role, but he was forced into a bottom-six role all last year. It hurt his draft stock, but that could be a major win for the Devils. His shot is already next level. The quickness in which he releases the puck off his stick in the blink of an eye. This puts opposing goalies on the heels when he has the puck. They have no time to get prepared for where the shot is going, leading to more and more goals.

Where we really need to see more from Clarke is on the power play. Again, he didn’t get as much opportunities as his teammates with the man advantage, but expect that to change this season. He could see his offensive numbers explode with just a few more opportunities.

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We also need to see Clarke stay healthy. He felt a little bit of the injury bug last season, which also hurt his production.

His goal scoring is the least of his worries. Once the puck is in the offensive zone, he’s an elite talent. Clarke needs to build off that momentum, and grow his game as a whole. He needs to work on his skating and explosiveness. It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely worlds behind his shooting skills.

What’s good is prior to last season he really worked on his skating. This shows he knows where he has flaws, and he’s humble enough to work on them to make himself better. We feel like he will only get better because falling to the 3rd round will work as another motivating factor.

Clarke has a lot of the tools to make himself a great NHL player. We’ve seen this story before, and it can end a myriad of different ways. Clarke seems like the type of person who will never let anyone keep him down, and he will continue to thrive as obstacles are placed in his way. He could have that breakout year this season, and could be in the NHL before we know it.

Evaluating prospect Michael Vukojevic. dark. Next

Draft Grade: A
Predicting When He Could Join Devils: 2021-22
His Peak: Top-Line Right Wing
His Floor: Injury-plagued career
Best Case NHL Comparison: Kyle Palmieri

We love this pick. This was the best pick of the by the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Draft in our opinion. Clarke could easily become a shooting threat sooner rather than later. He could theoretically make the Devils next season if the breakout we expect happens. It’s a long shot just because of who’s in his way, but Clarke has dealt with players in his way his entire career. He has plenty of practice, and can now use that to propel him to the NHL.

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