Ryan S. Clark has come a long way from when I first met him when he was covering the USHL’s Fargo Force and Moorhead (Minn.) High School hockey a decade ago. There were a lot of other stops along that road, like in Beaumont, Texas; Richmond, Indiana; Lansing, Michigan; South Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; just to name a few covering prep sports, college football and a whole bunch of other stuff.
Now a beat writer for the expansion Seattle Kraken and a national reporter for The Athletic, Clark discusses the recent NHL trade deadline including some of the deals that were particularly notable for the Kraken. On top of that, Clark also discusses what it’s like to cover an expansion team in its infancy and also some intel from his most recent gig as The Athletic’s Colorado Avalanche beat writer. Clark also broke down some of the similarities between Hall of Fame players-turned NHL general managers Joe Sakic and Ron Francis, each of whom he’s covered or is covering, and what it was like to watch the growth of Cale Makar from college to the pros.
On top of that, Clark discusses some of the lessons he took from a career climbing the ladder all the way to achieving his ultimate goal of becoming an NHL writer.
Ryan is one of my best friends and I have been so inspired by his journey to the top of our field. Even if I’m a little biased, he is one of the rising stars of the NHL writing community and has a voice and perspective worth hearing. So even if you’re not a Kraken or Avs fan, there’s probably going to be something in here for you.
Be sure to follow Ryan’s work at The Athletic and follow him on Twitter.
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Talking Hockey Sense Episode 6: The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark