06-02-2015, 12:02 AM
![[Image: vrbata_070214_672.jpg]](http://2.cdn.nhle.com/nhl/images/upload/2014/07/vrbata_070214_672.jpg)
Clitsome skating quite well on the ice.
Position: LW/RW
Secondary Position: C
Born: 12/12/88
Shoots: Right
Jersey Number: 17
Height (ft.): 5'9"
Weight (lbs.): 170
Birthplace: West Germany
Player Attributes:
CK = Checking: 50
FG = Fighting: 25
DI = Discipline: 62
SK = Skating: 92 (3/8)
ST = Strength: 93
EN = Endurance: 93 (1/8)
DU = Durability: 50
PH = Puck Handling: 99
FO = Face Offs: 53
PA = Passing: 81
SC = Scoring: 99
DF = Defense: 89
PS = Penalty Shot: 53
Rider Clitsome is a right winger who currently plays for the Hamilton Steelhawks of the SHL. Furthermore, as a great sign of being a player who can both handle pressure and an immense amount of responsibility, Clitsome is the currently active co-commissioner of the entire league as a whole. Clitsome was originally drafted second overall by the Vancouver Whalers of the SMJHL in the S20 SMJHL draft. He was then subsequently drafted by the Hamilton Steelhawks of the SHL with the fifth overall selection of the S21 SHL draft. What this shows is that Clitsome has constantly been viewed as an elite prospect, since he even joined juniors for that matter, which only attributes to how well he handles pressure, as he remains a significant young piece for the Steelhawks, in their attempts to win a Challenge Cup. Like all scouting reports, this one will focus on Clitsome’s strengths, weaknesses, and who he currently is as a player, and where we expect him to be in the future.
Strengths:
Skating: For such a young player in the SHL, Clitsome is most certainly a super-fast skater, being more than capable of getting from one part of the ice to another in a matter of seconds. This can quite commonly make the opposition’s assignment to cover him on a defensive level highly difficult and tire that opposing player or players quickly. Furthermore, this allows Clitsome to easily slice into the opponent’s side of the ice in a matter of moments, this produces more open and likely chances for his teammates and himself on the ice. What is perhaps the most interesting thing about his skating is simply how speedy and strong of a skater he already is, and he has not fully developed his body yet, as he is still young. It is quite possible and perhaps most likely, that he can become one of the elite skaters in the entire SHL as a whole if given proper coaching and time to develop. What is undisputable though is that you do not want to give Rider Clitsome a lot of space on the ice, otherwise, you are going to have a long night trying to prevent him from scoring or allowing others on his team to, simply based off his skating ability.
Strength: Perhaps just as impressive as Clitsome’s skating ability is how strong of a player he is physically already, especially with his body not being fully developed. Clitsome has devoted a significant amount of time daily to the practice facilities of the Steelhawks, specifically the gym, in order to improve the muscles on his body and allow himself to become stronger as a whole, which certainly has been the case. The strength translates into the ice in a multitude of ways. First, he cannot be bullied when hit by another player, no matter how strong, because his physique is simply incredibly impressive and his muscles far too strong. Furthermore, this also makes it highly difficult to remove the puck from his stick, simply based off his strength as he can shrug off players who try to check him and get the puck removes from his stick. Last, but certainly not least, it also helps his skating, as Clitsome can have a much stronger stride when he is skating up and down the ice. What truly make this skill scary is how strong at such a young age Clitsome is. If he is already one of the best in the league in pure strength alone, imagine how amazingly strong he will be once his body fully matures! Him becoming a member of the elite strength class in the near future is not out of the question and perhaps is even likely at this point.
Endurance: So we have already established how fast on skates, and how strong of a player Clitsome is, now we factor in the fact that he possesses great endurance, which allows him not to become tired easily, and we simply have a freak athlete. Clitsome is more than capable of playing multiple shifts on the ice before getting tired in anyway, which allows him to burden a great deal of the minutes that the coach may need him to play. This also allows his teammates to gain more minutes on the bench, which keeps them more refreshed, and subsequently allows him to play better on the ice because of them having a lot of energy to spare. Clitsome will also never take off on a play, offering his team every ounce of effort he can possibly give them, as long as the play calls for it. He does so wisely, and will not go incredibly crazy to retrieve a puck he knows there is no point in winning and can potentially injure himself, so he is quite smart in maintaining his endurance as well. This skill affects every other one Clitsome possesses as a player, which is what makes it so important, because if you are tired, your skating, scoring, passing, etc. all can suffer; this is not the case with Clitsome by any stretch of the imagination.
Puck Handling: One of the two very best skills Clitsome possesses as a hockey player on the ice, his puck handling is one of the best in the league, as few players have his natural ability to simply control the puck at his whim and make the opposition look absolutely foolish on a consistent and nightly basis on the ice. Whenever Clitsome gains control of the puck, not only does his strength enable him to maintain control of it, but his puck handling skills allows him to maneuver his stick in a way that makes it sometimes virtually impossible for the opposition to even have the chance to touch the puck; the puck is sometimes simply glued to his stick and it often makes it quite unfair for the player that is defending Clitsome on any night. His puck handling skills allows him to easily break into the opposing team’s side of the ice fairly often, simply by slicing the positioning of the opposing players, creating easier scoring chances for himself or his teammates. He if often featured on Sports Center’s top ten plays when he makes someone look foolish or score an incredibly flashy goal, which makes him quite a favorable player among both the Steelhawks and the entire SHL fans as a whole.
Scoring: The second of Clitsome’s two best skills as a player on the ice, most certainly has to be his scoring ability and how he has a massive arsenal of shots that allows him to quite commonly to get the puck pass the opposing goaltender and into the net. This is proven in his production, where in fifty-two games this season for the Steelhawks, he managed to score twenty goals, which is incredibly impressive for someone as young as a player as Clitsome. His strength allows him to have a fantastic slap shot that is simply a laser beam at times, arguably one of the three or five strongest slap shots in the entire league. His puck handling allows him to be incredibly swift with his hands, which allows his wrist shots to both come off his stick like a bullet and can even be curved a bit, which certainly confuses the goaltender into letting the goal in. Last, but certainly not least is the one-timer, which Clitsome simply has a great natural feel of the timing for the shot, which is something that you are either born with or not. This only shows how Clitsome was born and destined to be a great goal scorer in the SHL for many seasons to come. I would venture that he is a great goal scorer currently, but will easily become one of the few elite ones in the near future.
Defense: As explosive, naturally gifted, and strong as a player Clitsome is, his defensive capabilities can often get overlooked by scouts around the league. His natural and physical skills both enable him to be a very successful defender in many ways. His skating ability allows him to catch up to the opposing offensive players rather easily, his strength can allow him to intimidate the opposing player with the puck on his stick, his endurance allows him to never give up on defending a specific player, and he also possesses the natural instinct defensively of simply knowing where has to be on the ice in order to prevent the opposition’s play from becoming successful. Just to add some statistics to this skill, during the aforementioned fifty two games Clitsome played during the regular season, he had a plus-minus rating of ten for the Steelhawks, which is certainly very impressive and shows that he knew exactly what he was doing on defense and was able to significantly limit the amount of goals the opposing players he was defending were able to score. A very underrated portion of his game and it would not be shocking to see him become even a greater defender once he develops fully as a young player; elite defensive player potential is not out of the realm of possibility.
Leadership and Responsibility: As previously mentioned, regardless of how young of a player Clitsome might be, he has earned the ears and respect of his teammates, mainly through his dedication as a player and his work as co=commissioner of the SHL. Whenever he speaks, his teammates listen, and he is sometimes the one who leads player only meeting during the regular season, should they be required of course. This also allows his teammates to perform better, as they commonly want to impress and make Clitsome proud, because he tries to lead and present himself as such a good example for the rest of his team. It has seemingly worked, and this responsibility is something that has correlated between his work in the SHL front office and his role as an essential player for the Steelhawks. This can sometimes be overlooked by scouts, as some simply judge talent, but you can never underestimate character and the affect it can have on other people, or in this case, his teammates. Not many players can reach this level of leadership, so it is something Hamilton should cherish and value for as long Clitsome remains a member of the Steelhawks roster, which I am sure they are hoping is for many years to come, and those years ultimately becoming highly successful ones.
Good, but Can Use Some Improvement:
Passing: As a playmaker, Clitsome is quite capable of doing many things well, but perhaps he cannot do one specific thing great. He is more than capable of completing nearly all of the basic passes that would be expected of him to make, and on occasion he can make a pass that can go through a defender’s legs, and be able to set up his teammate for an amazing goal. However, he cannot be expected to constantly make the incredibly hard pass that usually comes against the boards on the ice, and will not commonly make phenomenal passes that lead to breakaway opportunities for his teammates. Nonetheless, he still needs to be covered if you are the opposition, because Clitsome has too much natural talent with the puck, to not make good passes if given space, so while his scoring may be a monumentally better skill, his passing still cannot be ignored, and by no means should Clitsome be considered a one-dimensional offensive player. His production was not too shabby for his playmaking either, as nineteen of his total thirty-nine points on the season were assists, which is quite good for a young player that is by no means great at this skill currently. Clitsome will probably never be an elite playmaker, but it would not be shocking at all to see his playmaking become strength, simply based off his natural skill with the puck, in conjunction with coaching and development.
Elite Production: I am not going to knock Clitsome’s production one iota, because as a young player he did incredibly well, as this was only his third season in the league. During this past regular season, in the fifty-two games he played, he scored twenty goals and netted nineteen assists for a total of thirty-nine points. That was good for fifth overall on the entire squad, and this is a roster that includes Magnus Jakobsen (who lead the entire league in points during the regular season), and Joe McKeil (who had forty-nine points during the regular season and is also one of the best offensive players in the league like Jakobsen). The reason why this is not a strength yet though, is that Clitsome has the ability to even produce better than he has, all he has to do is tap into that potential and make the possibility, into reality. Clitsome has the ability to become an elite offensive player in the league, and while thirty-nine points is very good, it is not quite the elite level that Clitsome can ultimately reach. It would not be shocking if this changes next season, as Clitsome seeks to take the next step and finally be placed in the elite group of offensive wingers in the entire league.
Weaknesses:
Checking: For someone as strong of a player like Clitsome is, it is simply surprising to see how weak of a checker he is on the ice and how he has never been able to develop into even an average checker on the ice. With all his strength, it still cannot allow someone to have excellent timing on their checks, and this is certainly the case with Clitsome, as he quite commonly completely misses his opponent when he is going for the check. In addition, when he misses the check, he can potentially place himself in a situation where he may hurt himself, which is something the Steelhawks simply cannot afford, because he is too valuable and important for their future for him to become an injury prone player through the duration of his career. Clitsome can also be too aggressive on the check, which can sometimes lead to roughing penalties on him, which ultimately forces his teammates to have to kill a penalty, which they of course cannot always do. Essentially, in multiple ways Clitsome can be a liability with his inability to check, and worse, him trying to do so, when he should know it simply will not work out more likely than not. He will never be a good checker, so at the very least, he should stop thinking he will be and simply find ways to play tough without trying to check the opposition.
Face Offs: It seems wingers these days just do not want to focus on face offs that much, which is completely understandable, and why it is where they are coming from, but it still does not change the mere fact that it can potentially negatively affect their team in any potential game. If the team’s center should get kicked out of the circle on the ice during an important face off, the winger is expected to take over in the circle, but since the winger cannot win a face off if his life depended on it, the potential possession opportunity is either completely lost or given to the opposing team. Regardless of which of the two it ultimately is, the result is simply not good. This can sometimes mean the difference of many goals when it is added up over time and by no means do teams honestly want to give up those essential goals for skills like these that are easy to learn with proper coaching over time. This potential problem can simply be avoided with great effort with training over time. Clitsome does not possess any timing or skill in face offs, but it would absolutely help his team in numerous small ways, should he figure out a simply way to work on this skill, which would ultimately add up and hopefully prevent some goals from being scored.
Overall Analysis:
Rider Clitsome is an essential young piece for the Hamilton Steelhawks of the SHL who are going to rely on him in the future, should they want to win a Challenge Cup. Clitsome is an incredibly fast skater on the ice, he also possesses great strength as a young player, he also has great endurance which allows him to log many minutes on the ice while also not ever giving up on a play on the ice, he is one of the very best puck handlers in the league while constantly making Sports Center’s top ten plays of the night, he also possesses a great arsenal of shots, being able to score from anywhere on the ice virtually when he is not covered, he is also a fantastic defender due to his natural and physical skills, and last but certainly not least, he is a very underrated defender, being able to limit many goals from being scored due to his ability to cover his assignment in many ways.
Game of Thrones Comparison: Jon Snow:
![[Image: 556bb676378caf0d670e4d50_jon-snow-white-walker.gif]](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/06/01/556bb676378caf0d670e4d50_jon-snow-white-walker.gif)
You are quite young, but yet many people respect you immensely, which is why Jon Snow was able to be elected as Lord Commander of the night watch at such a young age. Jon Snow is also incredibly talented as a fighter, and is naturally gifted with his skills. Clitsome is a natural born leader with many responsibilities as well, and also has great natural ability as a player, similar to what Jon Snow possesses as a fighter. Snow is also a masterful negotiator, being able to convince the wildlings to join the Nights Watch, in order to adequately defending and fight the White Walkers in the future. Clitsome as the co-commissioner of the SHL has learned how to negotiate with other members and many high profile members on numerous issues, and therefore also shares a great deal of responsibility like Snow has as Lord Commander of the Nights Watch, as previously stated.
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