After handling the Leafs’ draft (and introducing Ben Danford as the 31st overall pick at the podium) in Vegas in late June, Clark participated in the Leafs’ most recent development camp through the weekend before departing the club early this week.
Clark will be the Penguins’ Vice President of Player Personnel, in charge of professional, amateur, and college/European FA scouting. It is a big promotion, as he will now serve as Dubas’ right-hand man in Pittsburgh.
This was a long-rumored move since Dubas left for the Penguins, given the two’s connection stretching back to Sault Ste. Marie, where they worked together for five years until Brendan Shanahan hired Dubas in Toronto. Clark remained with the Leafs for another year after Dubas’ departure last offseason, but Dubas returned this summer with a larger role in Pittsburgh.
Last summer, the Leafs signed Derek Clancey, a long-time scout/director of pro scouting for the Penguins (including during their three Cup-winning seasons) who later worked with Treliving in Calgary. Clancey is in charge of the pro scouting side of the Toronto player personnel organization, whereas Clark previously oversaw the amateur side for three years. Clark will now supervise all aspects of player personnel in Pittsburgh, leaving an opening for the director of amateur scouting role in Toronto.
While he has been involved in player personnel operations since Dubas brought him back from the Florida Panthers organization in 2018, Clark will be the Leafs’ Director of Amateur Scouting from 2022 to 2024, overseeing the Fraser Minten draft, the Easton Cowan draft, and the most recent Ben Danford draft. The 2021 draft, when Matthew Knies was selected late in the second round, was overseen by then-Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley, who left to join the Rangers organization a few months later, after which Clark took up the post for the 2021-22 season.
Aside from the players named above (who have all signed or will sign), Nikita Grebyonkin, Dennis Hildeby, and Noah Chadwick have signed entry-level contracts with the Leafs from the 22-24 selection classes. Notably, the Leafs had a three-pick and five-pick draft during this time period while they attempted unsuccessfully to pursue the Cup at the NHL level, so Clark hasn’t had many options.
It’s clearly too early to make a decision on any of Clark’s 2022-2024 picks. There are some hopeful early returns (particularly from Easton Cowan), but only Minten has played NHL games from the draft classes Clark oversaw (and that was only a four-game trial last fall). It takes years to thoroughly evaluate draft classes this recent.
Dave Morrison, who supervised the organization’s amateur scouting for the greater part of a decade beginning with the John Ferguson Jr. era, remains a senior advisor in the Leafs’ player personnel department. Morrison advised Lilley and Clark in their responsibilities, both of whom drew the attention of other NHL teams and have since been hired elsewhere. Morrison will continue to mentor the new hire on the amateur side of the team’s scouting operation throughout the season.
For a team looking to compete for the remainder of the Auston Matthews window and will most likely be buyers at the trade deadline for the foreseeable future — resulting in late first-pick selections in each draft class and eroding their overall draft pick capital — the new head scout /draft czar (whether an internal promotion or an external addition) must be able to make the most of little to work with.
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