The Shawinigan Cataractes are happily taking a risk on Garrett Clarke.
The Cataractes officially acquired the 18-year-old defenceman from the Halifax Mooseheads yesterday for a fourth-round draft choice in 2011 in the hopes of earning big rewards.
“Everybody recognizes he’s a good hockey player,” said Cataractes general manager Martin Mondou.
“As for the rest, I was willing to pay a fair price for him. If the kid doesn’t want to co-operate, it will be easy for us just to say, ‘That’s enough.’ We’re OK with losing a fourth-round pick.”
The Mooseheads announced earlier this month they had removed the Moncton native from their roster, citing his lack of on-ice discipline as one of the reasons.
Mondou said Shawinigan, in part because it’s “far from home,” might be a better fit for Clarke than Halifax.
“He told us a bit of what went wrong (in Halifax) and he’s willing to take care of (himself) and make sure it doesn’t happen again, because it’s pretty much last call right now,” Mondou said.
Clarke can suit up with the Cataractes immediately as an affiliate player.
– For a full Q&A with Mondou, visit www.metronews.ca/qfiles.
