Next up in our annual prospect review and forecast series is Chase Clark, goaltender for Sacred Heart University, and now American International College. (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page in the top menu or here.)
VITALS
Clark, 22, is a 6’-6” right-handed goaltender from Williamsville, New York. The Capitals drafted him in the sixth round (#183 overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He committed to Quinnipiac beginning with the 2022-23 season, transferred to Sacred Heart for 2023-24 and transferred to American International College (AIC) for the upcoming 2024-25 season. He remains unsigned by the Capitals.
CAREER SUMMARY
Clark was born and raised in Pendleton, NY, attending Starpoint School until the sixth grade. According to NY Hockey Online, before he began his career in organized hockey, Chase skated on a pond near his Pendleton home.
In 2014 the Clark family moved to Williamsville where he attended Transit Road Middle School and Williamsville East High School. Following his first year with the Wheatfield Blades, he played House I Select for the Blades.
The highlight for Chase in his early years came in the 2017-18 season when he was selected to play in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) prospects game (the GTHL’s All-Star event). Chase was one of the four goalies selected for the game, out of the 24 goalies in the league.
Not only did he play but was selected MVP of the contest, a game in which Don Cherry dropped the ceremonial opening faceoff and presented the MVP Award to Chase. To top it off, Cherry not only mentioned the GTHL as well as Chase, but a photo of Cherry and Chase (left) was shown on the “Coaches Corner” weekly broadcast.
Photo: New York Hockey Online/Randy Schultz
“That was really pretty cool,” remarked Chase. “But to be mentioned by him on “Coaches Corner,” that really was cool.”
Clark played the 2018-19 season with the Buffalo Regals of the GOJHL and the 2019-20 season with the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the OJHL (Ontario Junior Hockey League). His record for the Junior Sabres in the 2019-20 season was 12-8-1 in 24 games.
A concussion suffered during camp with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers cost Clark a roster spot and forced him to find a new team for the 2020-21 season. This led Clark to join the Jersey Hitmen of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), where he proved to NHL scouts that he had the talent to be considered a future pro.
Clark played 22 games for the Hitmen in 2020-21, posting a record of 18-2-1, with three shutouts, a 1.92 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. He helped the Hitmen win the Dineen Cup.
In two games of the championship series, Clark stopped 49 of 51 shots and won both games. The Jersey Hitmen were also the regular season champions, winning the Founders Cup for the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC). Clark’s 2020-21 season garnered him a selection by the Capitals in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Photo: Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
The 2021-22 season saw Clark begin with the Tri-City Storm, where he dealt with injuries during the first half of the season. The Muskegon Lumberjacks announced on February 8 that the club had acquired Clark from Tri-City in exchange for draft picks. Clark appeared in seven games with the Storm, with a 4-2-1 record, a 2.51 goals-against average, and a .915 save percentage. Clark appeared in 13 regular season games and nine post-season games with the Lumberjacks.
Clark participated in the Capitals development camp in July of 2022, but did not participate in the Capitals rookie or training camps held in September. It was good that Clark spent a few days with Capitals goaltending coaches. Olie Kolzig spoke well of Clark on the development scrimmage game broadcast, noting that he was impressive and a very raw talent. [More here].
The 2022-23 season was Clark’s freshman year at Quinnipiac. Clark’s role for most of the season was backup to Bobcats’ ace netminder Yaniv Perets. While Clark’s season was mostly observing, he was observing one of the NCAA’s best netminders.
For the 2022-23 season, Clark played in eight games, all in relief, for a total of 78:29 time on ice. He made a total of 21 saves on 25 shots faced for a .840 save percentage, and had a goals against average of 3.06.
Chase Clark transferred from the Quinnipiac Bobcats to the Sacred Heart Pioneers for his sophomore season, expecting to become the starting goaltender there. He started the season by losing his first three games but then rebounded and started winning and was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week on October 22.
Clark had a great month in November and had established himself as the starting goaltender. His play in late October and November earned him Honorable Mention four times. However, he was injured in a collision in December and missed several games. He returned in January and did not perform well, as the injury still affected him. He did not play again after January 26 as Justin Roberts displaced him as the starting goaltender.
For the 2023-24 season, he compiled a record of 8-10-1 in 19 games. His save percentage was .898 and his goals-against average was 3.3. He made 482 saves in 537 chances.
2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS
The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Chase Clark during the 2023-2024 season. You can find all monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.
October
Clark was off to a rough start in October, losing his first three games, including a sweep by Colgate University during the weekend of October 13-14. He rebounded and won his first game of the year against RIT on October 21.
He was named Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week, for the week ending on Oct. 22 after stopping 60 of 65 shots during the weekend series against RIT. He received an Atlantic Hockey Honorable Mention the week of October 30 for getting 55 saves out of 60 shots in a weekend series against Niagara.
Clark’s record for October was 3-4 in 7 games. He made 195 saves in 215 chances for a save percentage of .905.
November
Overall, November was a much better month for Clark than October. He lost his first game of the month against LIU but won his last four, including two games against Canisius and two games against Robert Morris. He was named an Atlantic Hockey Honorable Mention three times, for the weeks ending 11/6/2023, 11/13/2023, and 11/27/2023.
His record for November was 4-1 in 7 games. He made 96 saves in 104 chances for a save percentage of .923.
December
December was a much rougher month for Clark. That month started well, with the Pioneers defeating AIC 5-4 on December 1. Clark ended the evening with 32 saves on 36 shots. It was Clark’s fifth-straight win and the fifth time this season that he had 30 or more saves.
However, the rest of the month did not go so well. His next game was a 3-2 loss against AIC on the following day. Clark saved 31 shots in the loss.
After that, there was a 4-0 non-conference loss to Princeton on December 8. Near the end of the second period, Clark was injured in a collision in front of the net and was slow to get up. While he remained in goal through the end of the period, he did not return for the third period. That was his last appearance in December.
His record for December was 1-2 in 3 games. He made 75 saves in 84 chances for a save percentage of .905.
January
Clark did not return to action again until January 5, against Mercyhurst. In that game, he gave up 7 goals during a 7-2 loss. He then played in a 3-3 tie against West Point on January 11 where he made 28 saves in 31 shots. After that, were two losses, one a 3-2 loss against Bentley on January 13 and then a 6-2 loss to UConn on January 26 where he was pulled in the middle of the game after giving up five goals.
His record for January was 0-3-1 in 4 games. He made 75 saves in 84 chances for a save percentage of .772.
Summary
Clark did not play again after January 26. It is suspected that he never really recovered from the injuries he received against Princeton on December 8. Before the injury, he had been the starter for most of the season.
For the season, he compiled a record of 8-10-1 in 19 games. His save percentage was .898 and his goals-against average was 3.03. He made 482 saves in 537 chances.
PLAYER FORECAST
In an era of big goalies, currently at 6’-6”, Clark will provide just that, and is currently the tallest netminder in the Capitals organization. According to the Buffalo News, Clark had grown two inches in the summer of 2020 alone.
On March 31, Clark transferred to American International College (AIC) for the 2024-25 season. For his junior year, he hopes to be in the mix for the number one netminder position this fall.
By Diane Doyle