| Assets | Plays a solid up-and-down game, and is a throwback winger who loves to check and do the dirty work. Strong on the puck, he’s versatile enough to line up on either wing. Is a good scorer in close and an excellent scrapper, too. |
| Flaws | Can be a bit too streaky in the goal-scoring department. As he has become a bigger scoring threat, he has become a little less physical, too. Also, he is not an elegant skater; he’s somewhat of a plodder, in fact. |
| Career Potential | Solid power forward. (Assets, Flaws and Career Potential via The Hockey News player page) |
Career Individual Usage, via somekindofninja (click to enlarge):
2013 Rangers Player Usage, via Hockey Abstract:
Why you should know who he is – Ryane Clowe makes little kids cry. He’s also (along with Jason Chimera, Michael Frolik and Drew Shore) one of four NHL forwards to have taken 87-plus shots on goal this season and scored three or fewer times. But he seems to have regained his form in New York since being acquired from San Jose for picks earlier this month, and is exactly what most teams are looking for in the second season – a big body that works hard and plays with an edge. In fact, he’s actually ramped up his goals- and points-per game a bit in the playoffs over the course of his career (so naturally he was no longer a fit with the Sharks) and will almost certainly be a guy Caps fans come to dislike in short order.
How the Caps can stop him – It’s possible that the Caps won’t have to worry about stopping Clowe at all – he missed Saturday’s season finale with what’s presumably either a leg or head injury. But assuming he can suit up at some point in the series, the Caps would probably be wise to go ahead and engage him physically – he hasn’t always been the most disciplined player in the League, and his body may be showing some signs of wearing down from the style of game he plays (he missed four games in March with a shoulder injury).