by Barry Stagg
WENDEL CLARK: COUNTRY BOY, CITY HERO
With all the comings and goings on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, Wendel Clark's return has been somewhat eclipsed. The prodigal arrival of Clark late last season, while the Leafs were in the process of self-destructing in agonizingly slow fashion, ignited a long, flickering flame of fan enthralment. Beyond that the Leafs demise and the dumping of several over-priced veterans during the summer submerged the Wendel factor during the sunny months.
As training camps open this fall, the new Leaf emphasis on checking, toughness and sixty minute hockey has come to the fore. That is the type of game that Wendel Clark plays and it is the style that Leaf management has set out for the team under new coach Mike Murphy. With the exile of veteran goal scorers this summer, the Leafs out of necessity must rely on strong checking and the kind of effort that brought them almost to the Stanley Cup finals three seasons ago. Remember that but for two awful calls by referee Kerry Fraser, the Leafs would have advanced to the Stanley Cup finals by defeating the Los Angeles Kings. Instead, of course, the Wayne Gretzky Whiners were able to find their way to the Montreal Forum where the Canadiens dispatched them in short order.
Clark and his steady Saskatchewan personality are back in the big city. Having him to team up with Captain Doug Gilmour and the young and hopefully blossoming Mats Sundin will still give the Leafs plenty of firepower and sufficient quantity of intestinal fortitude. The intestinal component is one that was sorely lacking in last year's team. Too many players who needed to lead by example ended up doing just that. The only problem was that they led by bad example rather than the positive variety. Playing a soft "figure skaters" game did not do anything for the Leafs season last year and with the renewed roster this year such an effort is quite unlikely.
Certainly the Wendel Clark game is the antithesis of the soft style that too many of the Leaf veterans put out last year. There will be little chance of Wendel Clark "mailing in" his effort as long as he is able to lace on a pair of skates.
The old saying that a players brings certain "intangibles" to his team applies perfectly in the Clark situation. Clark is a renowned dressing room presence who leads by virtue of his example of stellar, committed and dogged play. Playing through pain and being unwilling to submit to defeat are the tags that have followed Clark throughout his career. Many Clark fans may recall his debut on the national hockey scene. It was not with the Leafs but with the Canadian Junior team. Clark was playing as a defenceman in the Western Hockey League in his final junior season. However, he was kept on the National Team's roster as a forward and essentially played a utility role throughout the series. Clark's devastating over-the-boards hit on one of the fancy Russian stickhandlers set the tone for the Canadian team's eventual elimination of the Russians on their way to the World Junior Championship.
This is the year that Clark returns in full form to Toronto. It will not be just as a player but as a symbol of the style of play and the dedication required to create success out of scarce but potent resources. That is the way the Leafs led by Clark and Gilmour got to the Stanley Cup semi-finals against the Kings. That will be the same way that they will persevere this year against strong teams in their own division. Teams like Phoenix and Dallas are touting new line-ups but none have acquired the substantial grit that a Wendel Clark brings to Toronto.
In this age of jaded and selfish professional athletes, Clark has the opportunity to renew our faith that professional hockey players at least are prepared to give a genuine, honest effort for the sake of themselves, their team and the supporters of the game.
Until next month, be proud, be prosperous.