Scouting Report
EVALUATED 03/12/2021
Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
Projectable Skill - High Hockey IQ, positional leverage, lateral shiftiness, controlled passer
Development Opportunities - Maintain momentum in skating stride, physical maturity
If we are talking high-end traits, I think Clarke Caswell’s hockey IQ is the best in the draft class. Despite being a player who does not possess the longest stride, the hardest shot, or the biggest frame, Clarke manages to consistently maintain puck control and manipulate situations to create high-danger scoring chances seemingly with ease. Clarke has a maturity to his movements and often chooses stops and starts; little bursts to his stride to challenge puck carriers and get in the road of outlets. He shields the puck well along the outside, reads the flow off lanes and spacing so well, and hits passes on the tape with precision. I’d argue that Clarke is easily at his best when he is moving through the neutral zone as a puck carrier. Since he’s so good at adapting to changing terrain, he knows the proper moments to shift literally to evade pressure or slip pass to the wing once space opens up. The name of the game is puck possession. Off puck, there might not be anyone better at finding inside positioning to win puck battles. At the WHL Cup, he was used as a down-low presence to be around the net and win puck battles for loose pucks. Team Manitoba maintained possession so often simply due to Clarke’s ability to recover pucks. I would argue he was extremely misused strategically during the tournament and at the WHL level he is gonna have the ability to once again adapt to different playing styles and make every one of his linemates better. Clarke’s biggest weakness is how he maintains momentum and fluidity in his skating stride so teams could be scared off believing others have a higher pace of play.
Skating
8Puck Skills
9.5Hockey IQ
9.5Playmaking
9.5Scoring
8.5Physicality
7.5Defense
8Overall
8.64Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
Overall, I think this has been a nice showing for Clarke during the tournament. He was one of a few players who I was intently watching to see how they would affect their team’s winning and what lines he might end up on. He’s been one of the top forwards on Team Black in every game as shown today how getting inside positioning down low, battling for pucks, and not panicking in tight spots can create passing lanes or easy goals in tight. He used a beautiful hesitation move earlier in the game to let a defender fly by him and open up the shot lane. Very smart player.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
Despite nothing seeming to bounce right for Canada Black, Clarke looked active, engaged, and was showing that his skills and smarts make him such an adaptable player to play alongside someone like Celebrini. His outlet pass to Macklin to spring him was on point. Later on, he was able to find inside positioning in the offensive zone and draw a penalty too by being in good space. Many of his passes were well timed, smart, and kept plays alive. Maybe the two most important plays of the game for him though were a missed backdoor redirection attempt and then later when he was pickpocketed behind his net and it immediately turned into a goal against. Tough result for Caswell but I thought he showed very well.
Game Reports
EVALUATED
Alex Annun
Regional Scout - USA
Caswell did not necessarily jump off the page for me in this one but every time I looked he was right there on the screen in the thick of it and that needs to be mentioned. Caswell was always involved in the chaos and he was putting in hard work every time he was out on the ice, whether it was chasing down the puck carrier or battling it out in front of the net for positioning for rebounds. He was quick to pounce on a turnover in the offensive end and drive to the net for the feed to him, and after winning the stick battle out front he was able to quickly receive the pass and tuck it into the back of the net. He had some good chances from further out where he displayed his shooting ability and tested the goalie with some heavy wrist shots. Caswell was very involved and at times also not very involved, making it a bit of a contrast at times but an overall good showing.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
If you are a Swift Current Broncos fan, you have to have been hyped up after seeing Clarke Caswell for the first time. He was immediately inserted on the top line and looked like he belonged. He would delay plays after zone entry and draw coverage which allowed him to slip passes into the slot or cycle around the boards. He created off the rush and use his lateral shifts to maintain possession. He wasn’t afraid to head net front and provide tips and screens. Everything I would have hoped to see out of Clarke was present in this game. He had three high-danger scoring chances and could have ended the night with multiple points. In a surprising move, Clarke played the slot area on the PP and drew attention and coverage. Those little details like presenting the stick and changing the shot/pass angle to always be an option was present. His puck touches were on point and was a positive presence all game. If you would have told me he was a 19 year old player, I would have believed you. Great game Clarke. Instant chemistry with Matt Ward.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
The first game of the tournament had Clarke Caswell on the wing of Berkly Catton. It’s tough to see the full extent of what Clarke can be if he isn’t the number one option for puck touches on a line. He struggled to find his place in game one since every puck was being moved to Berkly up the middle and into the o-zone. Clarke was moved off of that line and the rest of the tournament was history. Clarke was the most consistent and diverse high-danger chance creator the entire tournament. His motions and movements are clearly quicker than everyone else and when you give him any sort of time and space he is able to make smarter decisions with the puck. The snap on his wrist shot moving through the slot looked fantastic. He reads pressure and lanes so well and is one of the few players who can stick handle between the defenders stick and body when he is making a move. You’ll find him sneaking into lanes backdoor, shielding the puck with his body and his gap control still while attacking, and really lets the game unfold to him. He doesn’t have the breakaway speed to be able to escape like some others can but it certainly doesn’t hold him back overall. He started off the year making a case why he should be considered one of the top players for the 2021 WHL Draft.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
This game was taken over by Blue right away as well. The first game I left very disappointed in my view of Clarke Caswell but in this game he made up for it and then some. His passing was crisp, smart, showing elite level vision and anticipation of lanes opening up and when to shoot or wait a few seconds. It was a great showcase of his skillset.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
SIGNED:
Swift Current Broncos
17/12/2021
LEAGUE PREDICTION
-
CHL
Confirmed
100%
TEAM PREDICTION
-
Swift Current Broncos
Confirmed
100%
TIMELINE
- 2021
17/12/2021
Swift Current Broncos sign Clarke Caswell
- 2021
09/12/2021
The Swift Current Broncos select Clarke Caswell at the 2021 WHL Draft