On June 21, the New Jersey Devils acquired forward Adam Beckman from the Minnesota Wild for a forward of their own, Graeme Clarke. Both players were third-round picks in the 2019 NHL Draft, taken just five spots apart from one another.
This isn’t exactly a blockbuster, but it is still a move that could have NHL implications. Who are Clarke and Beckman, and how can they affect their new teams?
Clarke Is a Good Get for the Wild
In his 2022-23 season, Clarke was looking to be a promising forward to the Devils. With 25 goals and 33 assists for 58 points in 68 games in the American Hockey League (AHL), there seemed to be bottom-six NHL upside with him. It’s not that he was bad in 2023-24, but he had 49 points in 67 AHL contests despite being a year older.
Still, with the point totals that Clarke put up, he can be an NHL player for the Wild if they choose to go that route. New Jersey has had some of the best offensive depth in the league for the past couple of seasons, so there really wasn’t a path for him to play consistently. With the offensive upside that he has, this was a gamble worth making for Minnesota.
Beckman Is a Good Depth Player, Too
The Devils got a decent player in Beckman, so losing Clarke isn’t the end of the word. A left-handed shooter, Beckman put up slightly worse offensive numbers in the AHL in 2023-24 (19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points in 51 games), but has 23 games of NHL experience as opposed to Clarke’s three.
Beckman played too little in the NHL to actually judge him accurately, but he put up poor on-ice stats and three points in 231 minutes with a minus-5 rating. In 2023-24, he had two points and a minus-2 rating in 11 contests.
This is a glorified AHL forward swap, but both of these players could certainly play some NHL games in 2024-25 and beyond. They will both have to prove that they are worthy of being on their respective opening night rosters with some hard work this offseason, during training camp, and in the preseason.
