46th Annual Desjardins Sports Celebrity Dinner

SPEAKER PROFILE: WENDEL CLARK, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Every so often a player comes along who simply captures the hearts of every fan in the city. He may not be the most talented, but he wears his heart, and the Blue and White Maple Leaf, on his sleeve. His worth is immeasurable yet greater than any statistics. A player who combined grit with goals, very few hockey players attract the love, respect and sometimes adoration as this man. Although quiet and easy-going, he achieved a rock star-like status among the members of the Leafs Nation.

Selected 1st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, this simple farm boy arrived in Toronto and almost immediately took the big city and the league by storm. A very successful defenseman in junior hockey, was converted to a winger at the NHL level with even greater success. The Leafs were desperate for any help on left wing they could find, and despite having only played approximately 20 games on the side in junior, coach Dan Maloney moved him up.

Described by King Clancy as the best Leafs rookie in 50 years, he wasted no time establishing himself in the NHL. Very quickly he made it known that he was a tough and abrasive customer. His gung ho attitude was shown not only in the dressing room but on the ice. His spirit and enthusiasm fired up his team and the old Maple Leaf gardens on many nights. While he was not a natural winger and at times struggled to learn his position, not many observers noticed, as his shortcomings were lost in the excitement of his intimidating physical style and his frequent fisticuff activities.

The former Leafs captain played 13 of his 15 NHL seasons with Toronto and was idolized by thousands of hockey fans. He also spent time playing for the Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lighting, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. One of his biggest accomplishments however was in his teen years when he helped Canada’s national team take the gold medal at the 1985 World Junior Hockey Championships. In the end, he played 888 games of rough and tumble NHL hockey, scoring 367 goals and 633 points with 1,690 penalty minutes.

Wendel Clark was nothing short of a superhero, taking on any and all of hockey's villains while attempting to will the good guys to victory.