David Clarkson

How Valuable is Clarkson to the Devils?
What does he bring to the team?
Could you guys see him eventualy playing on the 3rd or even 2nd line?

Thankx

he is playing on the 3rd line currently

hes been playing a lot better recently now that he tried to play hockey and stopped trying to just be a pest

He has the greatest wraparound ever!!!:nod:

Before he was trying to be a pest and kept getting into fights.

He's been playing much better now that he's focusing on hockey.

His technical skills aren't good enough to warrant a role on the second line, but he's going to be a solid 3rd liner. 15-20 goals a season sounds about right.

David Clarkson is playing alot better. Third line at the most right now at this point.

He has the greatest wraparound ever!!!:nod:

don't forget about his devastating toe-drag

David Clarkson is playing alot better. Third line at the most right now at this point.

Fixed!
But i cant fix the thread title.
Thankx

Fixed!
But i cant fix the thread title.
Thankx

i think if you just click once on the title of the thread then it will let you retype it.

I can see him growing up to be like Randy Mckay someday.:)

15 goals, 30 points, physical drop the gloves third line player. If he can add some new moves to his repertoire he'll become much more effective, that should develop with time.

we will entertain best offers... he is just north of rupp on the value chart.

clarkson for andrei markov straight up

clarkson needs to really work on his skating, and take lessons from parise to get a better shot/moves. IMO if he could do that he's a great chance to get 20 goals.

I have to admit he has been markedly better his last few games. I was very critical of him at the beginning of the season but he seems to be coming into his own now. I agree, he needs to improve his skating if he wants to keep on progressing. If he could be stronger on the puck and in the corners I think a McKay comparison could be likely. Wouldn't that be awesome, I would welcome that with open arms!

15 goals, 30 points, physical drop the gloves third line player. If he can add some new moves to his repertoire he'll become much more effective, that should develop with time.

He had that pretty lip-of-the stick drag to a drop pass between his legs.. I think that was in the 2nd period

I wouldn't be surprised if we see that again

Oh and the 'Clarkaround', as one here called it, has him opening up an option of dragging out and looking for a D man (actually resulted in a goal recently.. I think the Isles game)

I liked him from the beginning:) but no I actually have a reason to lol. Last year he was one of the few that would really hit when they really needed to be more physical, but he has definatly stepped up his game this season. I just hope he will gain more confidence, I've never seen a nhl player look so petrified when they have the puck near the net and no one to pass it too :help:

He is using his teammates much better. Instead of just holding the puck and doing nothing with it he's drawing defenders to him and then passing it off to an open teammate.

He's the coolest

He certainly has improved and brings something to each game lately. He had a great effort last night.

a good role player that can kind of fill for short periods on a 2nd line. he hits, fights, has enogh of a scoring touch, a very good shot from the outside( when he can get it off), and pretty much brings his A effort every night. i think he is pretty important overall to the devils because of his grit. i think when the team gets healthy and he is relegated back to his 4th line role he will play even better.

in fact when holik returns i think the rupp/holik/clarkson line will see 8-10 minutes of ice time and be our best fourth line since the "crash" line

He has recovered from his Oduya-itis and has been staying upright also. Amazing how effective you can be when you're not sprawled out and collecting your stick like a pee wee.

I am not yet ready to give him a pass on his play until he stops being the 2 move maestro (toe drag and wrap around). Cycle the puck for me Clarkie and you'll get a gold star.

He has recovered from his Oduya-itis and has been staying upright also. Amazing how effective you can be when you're not sprawled out and collecting your stick like a pee wee.

I am not yet ready to give him a pass on his play until he stops being the 2 move maestro (toe drag and wrap around). Cycle the puck for me Clarkie and you'll get a gold star.

He has the fake slapshot. I think thats at least another 1/2 move.

Honestly, I'm happy if he continues playing the way he does. I doubt he'll get much better. But I like what I see now, and I think its the best you can hope for.

Maybe in a couple years I could see his defensive-game getting an upgrade by virtue of playing with Jersey for so long.

If he keeps improving tha way he over the last few weeks, he will be a very valuable player to this team. He's just playing smarter hockey.

I can see him growing up to be like Randy Mckay someday.:)

We can only dream...

I just want him to shoot from IN FRONT of the goal or pass from behind. The wrap around doesn't work too often. Or try to bank if off the goalies back, just something that isn't a wrap around.

I don't know if this was posted already but here is a good write up from someone that I think usually has a pretty good read on things.

http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2008/11/24/669786/the-david-clarkson-potenti

clarkson has more goals then gomez :laugh:

clarkson has more goals then gomez :laugh:

seems like everyone has more points/goals then gomez.

the one thing that matters is he has more wins against us. :rant:

I have more hair than gomez...

I have better teeth than Gomez.












Ok, maybe I dont.

I have better teeth than Gomez.

Ok, maybe I dont.

http://gentscaninesociety.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/hilarious.jpg

I think he hasn't hit the quarter post in his development lifecycle...

To put things into perspective...This is an Undrafted player with barely 100 NHL games of expirience.

We have a tendancy to judge our young/inexpirienced players to a standard that we would hold a seasoned veteran. That just doesn't make sense.

In the first 3 Pro years you need to see constant improvement and that is how the young need to be judged. The good thing is, IMO Clarkson has showed improvement throughout his time with the Devils.

A player like this needs to learn from expirience - when to pick his spots and how to maximize his potential and cover up his limitations. I think he can develop into a consistant 30-40 point gritty, character type player.

I think he hasn't hit the quarter post in his development lifecycle...

To put things into perspective...This is an Undrafted player with barely 100 NHL games of expirience.

We have a tendancy to judge our young/inexpirienced players to a standard that we would hold a seasoned veteran. That just doesn't make sense.

In the first 3 Pro years you need to see constant improvement and that is how the young need to be judged. The good thing is, IMO Clarkson has showed improvement throughout his time with the Devils.

A player like this needs to learn from expirience - when to pick his spots and how to maximize his potential and cover up his limitations. I think he can develop into a consistant 30-40 point gritty, character type player.

Good points, I'd say at the beginning of the year I was getting frustrated with him because I wasn't seeing any improvement. Well the last few games all the things I complained about, lack of passing, running around,etc, i feel like he has improved dramatically on them all in the past handful of games.

I think even more telling is that he had a little slump earlier this year, along with the whole team really, and has recovered. That shows a lot of mental strength IMO. If he got worse and was regressing and kept getting worse and worse I'd be concerned. It seems like he had kind of slumped, settled down, and is back on the upswing already.

I have to admit he has been markedly better his last few games. I was very critical of him at the beginning of the season but he seems to be coming into his own now. I agree, he needs to improve his skating if he wants to keep on progressing. If he could be stronger on the puck and in the corners I think a McKay comparison could be likely. Wouldn't that be awesome, I would welcome that with open arms!
Me too. Randy McKay would be the 2nd or 3rd best offensive option on this team. 30 goals from Clarkson? I would literally poop out a cinder block.

Me too. Randy McKay would be the 2nd or 3rd best offensive option on this team.

Errrr, I hope that's just an exaggeration.

Errrr, I hope that's just an exaggeration.
Well, how many players from this team are going to score 30 goals this season?

Zach for sure and hopefully Elias

My bad. I was thinking McKay hit the 30 mark a couple of times. He didn't even hit 25.

Well, how many players from this team are going to score 30 goals this season?

Parise, probably Elias, maybe Gionta if he stays hot.

Also, McKay's career high was 24 goals and he only hit 20 twice.

Dunno about you but I haven't seen Clarkson fall down anymore in the last few games.

Parise, probably Elias, maybe Gionta if he stays hot.

Also, McKay's career high was 24 goals and he only hit 20 twice.
McKay's season high in points was 48, he had a 24 goal, 24 assist season in... 1998?

McKay's season high in points was 48, he had a 24 goal, 24 assist season in... 1998?

Did you do that off the top of your head? If so, mad impressive.

His career high is, in fact, 24-24-48 in 1997-1998.
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=3583

Did you do that off the top of your head? If so, mad impressive.

His career high is, in fact, 24-24-48 in 1997-1998.
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=3583

He probably did. He's our resident Rain Man

McKay is perfect example of how meaningless points sometimes are. Randy could skate, win the battles and brought the "team toughness" to another level. I'm not even talking about fighting.

We lost some really great players over the years -- But what we've been sorely lacking is the team toughness - Again I'm not talking about fighting - I'm talking about the guys who seem to always win the battles - All of the battles. Along the boards, in front of the net, for loose pucks....

Ever notice there are just some guys who constantly win the puck in all situations.

Paul Martin and Patrik Elias (in my opinion) are currently the best Devil at it but we used to have a team full of guys who can do it.

Zubrus is the best on the team at winning battles for pucks IMO

Zubrus is the best on the team at winning battles for pucks IMO

He is a bull in the corners but a dumb player and I've seen too many cycles end on bad decisions by him....Being strong on the puck is only part of it.

The best Devil at winning battles for the puck, especially at open ice, is Travis Zajac. He's been a beast at it so far this season.

And yeah, I did the McKay stat off the top of my head, but that one is easy to remember.

Zubrus is the best on the team at winning battles for pucks IMO

Langenbrunner is still pretty good at it too (though not as good as Zubrus). His problems this year are his shot and penchant for penalties.

The best Devil at winning battles for the puck, especially at open ice, is Travis Zajac. He's been a beast at it so far this season.

And yeah, I did the McKay stat off the top of my head, but that one is easy to remember.

yeah I have to agree, his steals in open ice and along the boards have been phenomenal. Then I'd say Martin. Zubs is great along the boards as well but I would give it to Zajac overall this season.

The best Devil at winning battles for the puck, especially at open ice, is Travis Zajac. He's been a beast at it so far this season.

And yeah, I did the McKay stat off the top of my head, but that one is easy to remember.

Zajac is very good at winning battles. And this year he is actually creating chance out of winning those battles.

But I don't agree he is the Best......You almost NEVER see Paul Martin loose a battle in the corner. He constantly is coming away with the puck or chipping it up to a waiting forward or getting over to his partner.

Martin has been the best player at winning battles for the last three years.

Zajac is very good at winning battles. And this year he is actually creating chance out of winning those battles.

But I don't agree he is the Best......You almost NEVER see Paul Martin loose a battle in the corner. He constantly is coming away with the puck or chipping it up to a waiting forward or getting over to his partner.

Martin has been the best player at winning battles for the last three years.

Tough point to argue there. The one thing Martin does better that is so impressive is recover from losing a battle and getting it back or getting back in position. So even when he gets beat its like he didn't because he recovers so quickly. I think that's why he never seems to lose a battle because even when he does he knows what to do immediately after. The hockey smarts on Paul are really impressive to watch.

when martin has the puck along the boards and does that spinorama back the other way (if youve seen it you know what im talking about) i just laugh every time

oduya has started to do it as well

Tough point to argue there. The one thing Martin does better that is so impressive is recover from losing a battle and getting it back or getting back in position. So even when he gets beat its like he didn't because he recovers so quickly. I think that's why he never seems to lose a battle because even when he does he knows what to do immediately after. The hockey smarts on Paul are really impressive to watch.



That is true...I become more and more impressed with Martin everytime I see him. I really think he is one of the most underrated Defensemen in the entire league

I also think he learned a lot being Scott Niedermayer's partner that one year.

That is true...I become more and more impressed with Martin everytime I see him. I really think he is one of the most underrated Defensemen in the entire league

I also think he learned a lot being Scott Niedermayer's partner that one year.
Don't tell anyone in the western conference this, or anyone from Chicago because they'll flip, but Martin is very, very comparable to last year's all-star Duncan Keith. Keith has a better and a more versatile shot but I'd take Martin over him in both moving the puck into the opposition zone and playing positional defense.

Keith is my favorite Hawk defenseman by a longshot, I'd love to have him on the Devils... he and Martin are pretty equal on the ice.

Don't tell anyone in the western conference this, or anyone from Chicago because they'll flip, but Martin is very, very comparable to last year's all-star Duncan Keith. Keith has a better and a more versatile shot but I'd take Martin over him in both moving the puck into the opposition zone and playing positional defense.

Keith is my favorite Hawk defenseman by a longshot, I'd love to have him on the Devils... he and Martin are pretty equal on the ice.

I always pictured Martin as the Keith of the east. Just like i think Stastny is the Parise of the west.

Also, we were 1-4 without Paul, 4-1 when he came back. Certainly not a coincidence to me.