Kody Clark: 2021 Annual Review And Forecast

Next up in our annual prospect review and forecast series is Kody Clark, forward for the Hershey Bears. (You can access all of the Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on the “Prospects” page or right here.)

VITALS

Clark, a 6’-3”, 185lb right-winger, was drafted by the Capitals in the second round (47th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The Capitals signed Clark to a three-year entry-level contract with an average annual value of $870,000 on October 22, 2018. With the first two years of the contract being entry slides, Clark will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.

CAREER

Clark spent three seasons with the Ottawa 67’s junior hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). During the 2017-18 season, he recorded 18 goals and had 21 assists. In the 2018-19 season, he scored 17 goals with 29 assists.

In the 2018-19 season Clark played in 57 regular season games for the Ottawa 67s, missing almost the entire month of December with a shoulder injury. He had 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points overall, was +17, and also had 98 penalty minutes.

Prior to the NHL Draft, Clark was ranked 19th overall among North American forwards by NHL Central Scouting.

During the 2018 Prospect Showcase in Estero, Fla., Clark tied for second on the team in goals (2) and tied for fourth in points (3). Clark also appeared in two NHL preseason games with the Capitals.

Clark is the son of Wendel Clark, who was drafted first overall in the 1985 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He amassed 564 points (330g, 234a) in 793 games between the Maple Leafs, the Quebec Nordiques, the Detroit Red Wings, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks.

2020-21 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS
The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Kody Clark during the 2020-21 season. (You can find all of our monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu).

JANUARY

Clark was invited to attend Capitals training camp, which began on January 3. He was re-assigned to Hershey on January 11. The Bears opened training camp on Saturday, January 23. The season begins for the Bears on February 5 against the Binghamton Devils.

TRENDING: SAME

FEBRURY

Slowed by injuries during his rookie season, Clark never got into a groove. He is making up for it during his second go-around. Clark scored the first goal of the season for Hershey. He went to the net and deflected a feed from Eddie Wittchow into the net.

Kody Clark breaks the seal! Bears lead 1-0. Clark was surging at the end of last season. #ALLCAPS #CapsProspect pic.twitter.com/TKVx9Pdk2d

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) February 6, 2021

Clark contributed an assist against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in his next game, but then went scoreless in his next five games. He broke out of his drought against Binghamton on February 26. He gave the Bears a 3-1 lead in the second period when he put a rebound in for his second goal of the season.

Kody Clark with his second goal of the season gives Bears a 3-1 lead. #CapsProspect #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/GouLqIzoWa

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) February 27, 2021

Later in the period, the puck deflected off his arm and went in for his second goal of the game. The goal gave Clark his first professional two-goal game.

Kody Clark with his second goal of the game, a redirect of a shot from the point by Rob O’Gara. Bears lead 5-1. #CapsProspect #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/7Jaolv6vtb

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) February 27, 2021

Clark netted three goals in February. That total matched his rookie season total.

TRENDING: UP

MARCH

Clark produced his second-straight four-point month in March. He netted four goals and added a helper in 10 games for the month.

Kody Clark with a nice give-and-go, scores from a sharp angle to give Bears 1-0 lead at first intermission. #ALLCAPS #CapsProspect pic.twitter.com/URRh1ZO2oA

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) March 7, 2021

Clark recorded his second multi-point game of the season against Binghamton on March 19, continuing his strong play against the Devils this season. Both of his multi-point games have come against Binghamton and he has scored four goals against the Devils.

Kody Clark with a nice redirect for his 7th tally of the season. He now leads the Bears in goals. #CapsProspect #ALLCAPS #HBH pic.twitter.com/dfcf8MwYhx

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) April 1, 2021

Clark now has seven goals on the season, three more than he produced during his rookie campaign. Those seven goals lead the team. Clark is also just one point shy of matching his rookie point output.

TRENDING: UP

APRIL

The second-year winger was having a very good sophomore campaign. He had surpassed his goal total from last season with seven tallies and equaled his point total with nine. Unfortunately for Clark, he was bitten by the injury bug in April. He suffered an injury in the month’s opening game on April 3 and missed the rest of the month.

TRENDING: SAME

MAY

Clark’s promising sophomore season came to a halt on April 3 when he suffered an upper body injury. He missed the remainder of the season with that injury. The son of former NHL winger Wendall Clark ended the season with seven goals and two assists in 19 games played.

TRENDING – SAME

PLAYER FORECAST

Clark was surging in his second season with the Bears before an injury ended his season in early April. He showed excellent net-front presence, was very physical along the boards and in the dirty areas, and showed much better mettle in his puck battles in tight spaces.

Clark has played in just 50 games in his first two seasons with the Bears. It will be critical for Clark to remain mostly healthy and play the entire coming season for the Bears. He projects as possibly securing a bottom six role with the Capitals in one to two seasons from now.