NHL Rumors: Kings' Prospect Heading Back To Junior After World Juniors

It appears as though Brandt Clarke will have to wait until next season to play in the NHL full-time as he is expected to be returned to the Barrie Colts of the OHL following the World Juniors, per Jeff Marek.

Clarke played nine games with the Kings and impressed, recording two assists and playing as a 19-year-old. He gave the team and fans a taste of what is to come for a long time, and he was able to stay under the games limit to allow him to be rookie eligible the next year he plays in the NHL.

Clarke is playing on Team Canada at the World Juniors and has one goal and four points through four games. Defencemen don't typically even get their trial runs as early as Clarke did which shows us where he is in his development.

The Kings already have too many defencemen as it is on their roster, right shot defencemen especially. It makes sense to give Clarke the most playing time possible in the OHL for the remainder of the season rather than playing third pairing minutes or even being scratched.

He has a bright future ahead of him and it is likely the Kings make room for him in the NHL next year with a couple of deals to move defencemen out this season and the offseason.