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A Fan's Tribute To Wendel Clark -- By B_Wforever -- 12/08/05
“If there was a list of the most popular Toronto
Maple Leaf players of all-time, one could be
certain that the name Wendel Clark would be
right near the top. The former Maple Leafs'
captain was idolized by thousands of hockey
fans, and held a status, which was nothing
short of legendary during more than a decade
of service with the blue and white.”
From the Legends Of Hockey website:
Who was he to me?
Wendel Clark is my all time favorite leaf. Through the 80’s when we had very little to cheer about, Clark was the beacon of hope. He was the a complete all around hockey player. A pure bulldog. 3 main aspects to his game:
1) If you had your head down he would bury you with a crushing check.
2) His snap shot and release has never been duplicated by any other NHL player. No leaf today can score coming down the wing like he could. No fancy moves. Just in over the blue line and let-er rip. Alex Moginly is the only one to even come close to having this talent in recent years.
3) When he wanted to drop the gloves he was like no other. His fights usually lasted about 30 seconds during which he landed 15 punches. He did not size up his opponent and try to get leverage (ala Tie Domi). Clark just dove in with his fists flying.
Unfortunately Clarks career was plagued by injuries. His bulldog style left him battered most of the time. He only ever played one complete season. That in 86-87 where he notched 37 goals and 60 points in 80 games. His best season was 93-94 Wendel had 46 goals and 76 points in 64 games played. Wendel doesn't have hall of fame stats because of his injuries. I can only imagine what kind of numbers he could have put up, but at the same time I couldn't imagine him playing the game without putting his body on the line.
My best memories of Clark
1. The snap shot:
Flying down the wing and letting fly with his famous snap shot against the St Louis Blues. The shot was so hard it actually ripped the mask right off of Cujo.
2. Leafs-Kings semi final:
Dougie is coming over the blue line and is absolutely leveled by then kings d-man Marty McSorley. Wendal came out of no where fists a flying . I think he actually left his gloves in our end. He absolutely destroys Mcsorely.
3. Clarks return to the leafs:
We all get that sense of pride when the HNIC theme song come son Saturday night right. It’s a Canadian tradition. Well picture this. Clarks night of return. The song starts playing. HNIC starts to show leafs names on the screen. Ellet, Sundin, Andreychuck, Gilmour, -- CLARK --
To be a leaf fan, and see his name flashing on your tv screen. It sent chills down my spine and is something I will never forget.
4. Fights:
No one can forget the famous Clark-Kordic, Clark-Probert battles.
The end of an era
To me Clark's retirement represented the end of an era of “real” hockey players. An era from back when it wasn’t about the money, and no one ever talked about strikes or cba's. It was only about the game. Yes I know he was around for and after the 94 lockout, but he represents the 1980's to me. He wasn’t a big talker. He let his actions speak for him.
His entire career is best summed up in his retirement speech:
“I just wanted to play hockey. That’s pretty much the whole story”
My Heroes
Toronto Maple Leafs Heroes And Legends.
