Wendel Clark Biography and Pictures
Drafted #1 Overall In 1985 & Should of Been Rookie of the Year!
Drafted #1 Overall In 1985 & Should of Been Rookie of the Year!
LEAFS LEGEND: WENDEL CLARK
Wendel Clark was one of the most
popular and beloved players to ever wear a Maple Leaf sweater. He was loved
by Leaf fans because of what he brought to the rink every single game:
he could score goals with a deadly wrist shot; he could throw thunderous
bodychecks that would lift the crowd off its feet; and he was one of the
most feared fighters in the NHL in the 1980s. He also had a genuine love
of the game which he showed through his all-out, determined style of hockey,
which ultimately cut short his promising career.
Wendel Clark was born on October
25, 1966 in Kelvington, Sask. He was part of a hockey environment, having
followed in the path of his cousins Joe Kocur and Barry Melrose. He first
gained attention at the 1985 World Junior Championships when he scored
an important goal that helped Canada gain a gold medal and he also made
his presence felt with his timely hitting.
The 1985 NHL draft was held
in Toronto for the first time and also for the first time the hometown
Leafs would have the first pick. There was heavy pressure on the team,
especially GM Gerry McNamara, to not make a mistake since the Leafs had
been notorious in the past for their poor record in the draft, particularly
in the first round. After much speculation that the Leafs were considering
taking talented forward Craig Simpson, the Leafs surprised their fans by
taking Clark from the Saskatoon Blades. The Leafs drafted him as a defenseman,
but he was immediately switched to left wing, where he played for most
of his career. Right from his first game, it became obvious to anyone who
watched him play that this time the Leafs had not made a mistake.
In his rookie season, Clark
electrified fans with his play and gave every indication of being a future
star. He scored 34 goals, which broke the club record for most goals by
a rookie. For his efforts, he was named to play in the 1986 All-Star Game
where he briefly skated on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri. At
the end of the season, he was named as the NHL's best rookie by both The
Hockey News and The Sporting News, but the big prize--the Calder Trophy--would
elude him. He finished well back in the final voting behind the eventual
winner Gary Suter, whom many Leaf fans felt had stolen the award from Clark
and didn't deserve it. Clark had to settle for being named to the NHL's
All-Rookie Team, which was the only individual honour that he would win
during his career.
The next season, 1986-87, would
be even better. He would better his rookie goal total by scoring 37 times
and he also picked up 271 PM, which served notice to all opponents that
he would take on all challenges and would not back down from anybody. He
also played in all 80 games but it would be the only time in his career
that he would play a full injury-free season. His injury troubles began
before his third season when Clark hurt his back while trying out for Team
Canada's 1987 Canada Cup team. He was ultimately cut from the team by coach
Mike Keenan, a decision which proved unpopular with fans in Southern Ontario
who booed Keenan strongly when the team played its first home game in Hamilton.
During the next 3 seasons Clark played only 81 games as his back problems
got worse and he could not help his Leafs as they faced some difficult
seasons ahead.
In 1990-91, Clark was introduced
to Chris Broadhurst, who became his full-time physical therapist and personal
trainer and later, after being impressed with his work with Clark, he was
hired by the Leafs as the team's full-time therapist. Although he still
received his share of injuries, the back problems were behind him and he
would lead the Leafs to their best seasons since the late 1970s. In 1991
he was named captain of the Leafs, a decision which was a popular one with
fans and players alike. As captain, he led the Leafs to 2 semi-final appearances
in 1993 and 1994 and set a team record with most career playoff goals with
33.
In 1994, the Leafs felt that
they had made great strides in becoming Stanley Cup contenders and they
needed a few more pieces to finally win it all but in order to get those
missing pieces they sacrificed their team leader. To the shock of many
die-hard fans, on the afternoon of the NHL draft on June 28, 1994, Wendel
Clark was traded to the Quebec Nordiques along with Sylvain Lefevbre and
Landon Wilson in exchange for Garth Butcher, Todd Warriner, and Mats Sundin,
whom management was counting on to be the team's next leader. The two teams
also exchanged first round draft picks in the deal. Ironically, Clark had
been coming off his best season as a Leaf, scoring 46 goals in 64 games,
but it was the intangibles that he brought to the rink that the fans would
miss. Eventually, the loss of Clark proved so great that management brought
him back through trades on two separate occasions, and, fittingly, his
final game was played as a Leaf in May of 2000. Clark now works for the
Leafs as a goodwill ambassador, where he stays in touch with his legions
of fans, who will never forget him.
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