The Tampa Bay Lightning have selected 6’3″ right shot defender Warren Clark with their 6th round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The Canadian Clark from Riverside, Ontario is committed to St. Cloud State University in the NCAA after playing this season in the Manitoba junior hockey league below the CHL.
Clark is described as an offensive defenseman, but there’s very little written about him. I’m going to link an article by Mick Hatten (note, it lists his height incorrectly, he is 6’3″ according to the NHL and Elite Prospects) that has quotes about him from his coaches, teammates, and himself.
The Rink Live
“He’s come in and adjusted quickly to Junior ‘A.’ Sometimes, it’s a bit of an adjustment for an offensive defenseman. Probably the biggest, most pleasant surprise is his play away from the puck. He’s a player who has the desire to play at the highest level possible. With that, he understands that there’s some areas of his game he needs to develop. I really like the progress that he’s made in the defensive zone.”
“I think the first thing that jumped out at us was he has very good offensive instincts,” said Dyck, whose team plays at the Junior ‘A’ level. “He’s a player that wants the puck on his tape. As a defenseman who was 6-3, right shot and can play the power play — those (characteristics) were appealing to us when we first started recruiting him. The way he works the offensive line … you don’t see that many players with that type of puck poise.”
This is a pick I can’t say anything definitively about at the moment. We know he is committed to the NCAA, we will know much more after a year. It’s really hard to judge his season in the MJHL because it’s such a rare league to have NHL prospects drafted from and it doesn’t get much attention.
Tampa Bay’s development camp begins on July 2nd, Warren will likely be in attendance.
