Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Could Connor Clifton eventually fill Torey Krug's role?

July 3, 2019, 1:30 PM ET [11 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
You can find many similarities between Torey Krug and Connor Clifton. Both are American born defensemen. Both played college hockey, both are under six-foot and weigh less than 200 pounds. Essentially, they don’t have the build of your traditional National Hockey League defensemen.

But the similarity I find most interesting is how each introduced themselves to the NHL.

Krug got his first taste of the NHL in the 2011-12 season where he appeared in two regular season games for the Bruins, then one game the following season. Krug picked up two assists in those three games.

It was the 2012-13 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Bruins run to the Stanley Cup Final where Krug impressed the masses with six points in 15 playoff games. The offensive-minded defenseman hasn’t looked back since, becoming a big part of the Bruins core.

This past November Clifton made his NHL debut, finishing the regular season with one point in 19 games.

Like Krug, it was the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and a run to the Stanley Cup Final that saw Clifton burst onto the scene. The 24-year old Clifton was an important part of the Bruins playoff blue line with five points in 18 games.

On Monday, the Bruins rewarded Clifton for his efforts with a three-year extension that keeps Clifton in Boston through the 2022-23 season.

As the Bruins continue to build their blue line for not only the coming 2019-20 season, but the seasons to follow, Clifton could become a much more valuable piece to the Bruins defensive puzzle.

With Krug entering the final year of a four-year, $21 million contract, and a big payday to come in the very near future, Krug no longer being a Bruin come the 2020-21 season is a real possibility.

If this possibility becomes a reality, could Clifton fill his shoes down the road?

“I don’t think I’ll ever be as offensively gifted as [Krug], but, you know, he’s a smaller defenseman. I’m a smaller defenseman. I think he’s great defensively. He makes the best breakout passes. He beats two or three guys just forechecking all the time just with these nice passes, and, you know, I wouldn’t even see,” Clifton said during a conference call with the media Wednesday morning.”

“But yeah, [Krug’s] definitely a player I’d like to be like.”

The 2013-14 season was Krug’s first full one in the league. The then 22-year old had a successful rookie season with 14 goals and 26 assists, good enough for 40 points in 79 games. Since then, Krug has become a staple on the Bruins power play, anchoring the top unit as the number one power play quarterback.

With the experience the Bruins have on their blue line and several other prospects ready to earn a spot on the roster, it’s going to be a battle for playing time on the Bruins blue line, a battle that includes Clifton.

As Clifton continues to develop as a player and grow his game, speed bumps are to be expected. It’s hard to see Clifton match the 40-point season Krug had his rookie season, but as long as Clifton continues his development, and does what is expected of him, there’s no reason why Clifton can’t produce in similar ways to what Krug has done.

Since the Bruins disappointing loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Clifton has taken some time off to heal both his mind and body. Now, with his short summer underway, Clifton’s goal is simple. Despite appearing in six of the seven Stanley Cup Final contests, Clifton knows he still needs to earn a roster spot come training camp.

“I think I want to get everything better, excited to touch the ice again in a couple of weeks. But yeah, I think just a little bit of everything. The play after that, I guess, is come to camp and make the team,” said Clifton. “Obviously, we’ve got, I don’t even know how many defensemen, great defensemen who can play in the NHL. I think I have to take that upon myself and be ready for September and try to make the Boston Bruins.”

Once again similar to Krug, Clifton’s path to playing in the NHL was an interesting journey. The former Quinnipiac University standout was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL entry draft. But after the Coyotes made several changes to their front office in 2016, it was apparent that Clifton was not a part of the Coyotes future plans.

As Clifton admits, the change of staff in the front office was a driving force behind his decision to play out his senior year at Quinnipiac.

“At the end of the day I think I needed the four years to develop and get better. Also, which didn’t help that is, I guess Arizona drafted me, but the whole management changed,” added Clifton. “I guess, they weren’t too high on me, so I guess it just lucked out that way.”

After Clifton’s college career ended with a loss to Harvard in the final of the 2017 ECAC Tournament, Clifton was ready to make the jump to the NHL and begin that next chapter of his hockey career. However, the only issue was that he knew that wouldn’t happen in Arizona.

Because of this, Clifton had to wait nearly five months to become an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign wherever he felt the best fit would be.

Hanging on the sidelines while teammates and former opponents made the jump to the NHL, it would have been easy for Clifton to become discouraged as he waited to see what his next step would be.

That next step came just days after officially becoming a free agent in August of 2017 as Clifton signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Bruins.

Clifton also admitted Wednesday that signing with the Bruins and playing in Providence was not the only offer he had on the table, but ultimately decided Providence would be the best fit for he and his family.

“Well, I ended up with three American League deals, and after talking with my agent, my family we felt this was the best opportunity,” said Clifton. “You see, when I signed my American League deal, I was the only righty defenseman that would be in [Providence], and that’s exactly what happened.”

The AHL taught Clifton a lot about being a pro, and playing professional hockey. But when things did not go his way off the bat, Clifton battled through the adversity and has since quickly moved his way up the Bruins depth chart.

“Early on, I was scratched a bunch of games in the beginning of the year, and while I was sitting there, there were six lefty D in the lineup,” said Clifton. “So, that was pretty crazy, and that was a big part. My agent loved the organization, and he thought I fit in well.”

As Clifton and the Bruins moved deeper in their playoff run, you could see Clifton’s confidence grow on a game-by-game basis. He was smart in the defensive zone, wasn’t afraid to take the space given to him and create an offensive rush with his speed, and he certainly was not afraid to throw his body around.

“I believe I can fit wherever I play. I am hopefully complimenting my partner. I know I played a bunch on the left side, which I did for the first time of my career this year with Boston, which, you know, is tough trying a new thing in the National Hockey League. I think I dealt with it good though,” Clifton said.

37 games is a small sample size, and to say that Clifton for sure will be the Bruins next Torey Krug is a bit farfetched. But to date, Clifton has yet to show us that there’s no reason why someday he can’t be.

Regardless of how anyone feels about his game and the type of player Clifton is, Krug is a player he would like to someday be like. So much, he admitted so twice in his conference call.

“Yes, everyone talks about how offensively gifted [Krug is]. I think the defensive game goes overlooked because of that. You see the plays he makes on the offensive blueline. It’s a fast game, and some of the plays he makes are unbelievable, but like I said, he plays against top lines or second-line whatever, and he’s shutting them down all,” said Clifton.

“But yeah, he’s definitely a player I would want to be like.”
Join the Discussion: » 11 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Anthony Travalgia
» The End of an Era?
» Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman in Game 7?
» Home Not So Sweet Home
» Bruins Depth On Full Display In Sunrise Sweep
» Bruins Drop Game 2 After Ugly Performance