Wendel Clark, Legendary Leafs Captain
Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a former professional ice hockey player from Kelvington, Saskatchewan.
A star junior hockey defenceman with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League, Clark was a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 1985 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
The Maple Leafs selected him first overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He played with the team on three occasions and captained it from 1991 to 1994.
His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, when he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks. Initially pegged as a defenseman, Clark would move up to play Left Wing.
In his rookie year with the Maple Leafs, Clark set the Leafs rookie record for most goals by a Maple Leaf with thirty-four, Breaking Walt Poddubny’s record of twenty-eight set in 1982-83, which was equaled that same year by Peter Ihnacak. It wasn’t until 2016-17 that Clark’s record was broken by Auston Matthews, who recorded forty goals in his rookie season.
Clark was known for his physical play, offensive mind, and scoring prowess. As tough as Clark was, his scoring touch and offensive ability were equal to his on-ice toughness. Clark’s 227 PIM in his rookie season was the 1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs team-high, along with 34 goals, which also led the team. After his rookie season, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and finished third in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy.
Clark was named captain of the team for the 1991–92 season. During the 1992–93 season, Clark’s second year captaining the team, the Leafs set team records in wins (44) and points (99) and made the playoffs for the first time in three years. The Leafs had a memorable run to the Campbell Conference Finals. Still, after leading the best-of-seven series three games to two, coming within one game of advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals, they lost to the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings, coached by Clark’s cousin, Barry Melrose. Clark had a legendary series performance with 20 points (10 goals and 10 assists) in his 21 games during the ’93 playoffs.
Two career-defining moments happened in this series for Clark: his toe-to-toe fight in Game 1 of the series with enforcer Marty McSorley in retribution for a big hit McSorley made on Leafs star Doug Gilmour and his hat-trick in Game Six of the seven-game series.
Clark managed a career-high 46 goals in 64 games for the Leafs during the 1993–94 season, playing on a line with Dave Andreychuk and Doug Gilmour. In the playoffs, the Leafs made a second consecutive trip to the Conference Finals but fell 4–1 to the Vancouver Canucks, who future Leafs coach Pat Quinn coached.
In June 1994, with his value at an all-time high, Clark was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in a multi-player deal that notably involved a young Mats Sundin. After the Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche, Clark became embroiled in a contract dispute with the team. As a result, shortly before the 1995–96 campaign began, he was sent to the New York Islanders in a three-way trade that brought Claude Lemieux to Colorado and Steve Thomas to the New Jersey Devils. Clark played 58 games with the Islanders but finished the season in Toronto. The Islanders received a first-round pick from the Leafs (4th overall in 1997), which was Roberto Luongo.
In 1998, Clark signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning. There, he earned a spot on the North American All-Star team and scored 28 goals in 65 games. Despite his success in Tampa Bay, he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Detroit Red Wings, where he finished the 1998–99 season. Clark signed with the Chicago Blackhawks later in 1999 but only appeared in 13 games with the team.
Upon returning to the Leafs in 2000, after being benched by the Blackhawks, Clark was not particularly effective for the remainder of the regular season, but he found his form for the Leafs’ playoff run. Leaf fans gave their former captain a 90-second standing ovation after Clark barreled into the New Jersey Devils zone and hit the post in Game 1. During Game 4, Clark assisted on the game-winning goal that gave the Leafs a 2–1 victory and tied the series with the Devils.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club now employs Clark as a community ambassador and public relations. He can be seen at virtually all Leaf home games, usually with his wife Denise and children.
The Toronto Maple Leafs honored the former captain by raising his legendary number 17 to the rafters on November 22, 2008, at the Air Canada Centre. The team officially retired the number on October 15, 2016, during a home pre-game ceremony, during which 17 players representing 11 sweater numbers were similarly honored.
Before the Leafs’ Hockey Day in Canada game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, February 18, 2017, it was announced that statues of iconic Leafs Charlie Conacher, Red Kelly, Frank Mahovlich, and Wendel Clark would be added to the Leafs’ Legends Row, located outside the Air Canada Centre, as part of the ongoing Maple Leafs’ Centennial Anniversary.
He owns Wendel Clark’s Classic Grill and Sports Lounge, which has four restaurants in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Brampton, Ontario; Oshawa, Ontario; and Burlington, Ontario. He resides in King City.
Clark’s son, Kody, played three seasons for the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League beginning in 2016. Kody was selected 47th overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals.
Wendel has several relatives of NHL fame, including first cousin Barry Melrose, who played pro and coached the Los Angeles Kings and is now an ESPN commentator.
Former Detroit Red Wing Joey Kocur and two brothers: Kerry Clark, a career minor leaguer, and Donn Clark, best known for being the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders and the Saskatoon Blades.
https://www.michellefaubertdailypay.com
In popular culture
Though it was released very early in his career, arguably before he became well-known as a player, the Canadian band The Rheostatics celebrated Clark in the song “The Ballad of Wendel Clark Parts I & II” on their debut album, Greatest Hits.
Awards
- WHL East First All-Star Team – 1985
- Selected to two NHL All-Star Games: 1986 and 1999
- NHL All-Rookie Team – 1986
- Inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
- The #17 jersey was retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs (Wendel Clark, Legendary Leafs Captain)
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 72 | 23 | 45 | 68 | 225 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 64 | 32 | 55 | 87 | 253 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 1985–86 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 34 | 11 | 45 | 227 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 47 | ||
| 1986–87 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 37 | 23 | 60 | 271 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 38 | ||
| 1987–88 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 28 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 15 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 38 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 116 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||
| 1990–91 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 63 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 152 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 43 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 193 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 51 | ||
| 1993–94 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 64 | 46 | 30 | 76 | 115 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 24 | ||
| 1994–95 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 37 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 45 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 58 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 13 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1996–97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 30 | 19 | 49 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 47 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 65 | 28 | 14 | 42 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 20 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 793 | 330 | 234 | 564 | 1,690 | 95 | 37 | 32 | 69 | 201 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
KEEP YOUR STICK on the ICE. (Wendel Clark, Legendary Leafs Captain)
