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| Wendel Clark waves to the crowd at the SaskTel Centre. |
Before he became a legendary power forward with the NHL’s
Toronto Maple Leafs, Clark starred as a defenceman for the WHL’s Saskatoon
Blades for two seasons from 1983 to 1985. During that time, he appeared in 136
regular season games collecting 55 goals and 100 assists. In the 1985 NHL Entry
Draft, the Leafs selected Clark first overall, and he is still the only Blades
player to ever be selected first overall in an NHL Entry Draft.
While he will always be best remember for his time with the Leafs,
Clark will never shy away from renewing his links with the Blades. The
Kelvington, Sask., product was in “the Bridge City” on Saturday to be honoured
as part of the Blades “Homegrown Hockey Heroes” promotion, which was held as
part of their 4-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels.
Starting from a pre-game dinner and hot stove and right
through to the end of that night’s game, Clark did his best to accommodate the
numerous fan requests that came his way.
“It is great being back all the time,” said Clark, who
stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 197 pounds. “Whenever you get back in the old arena
with the old uniform playing and seeing the alma mater as we say playing the game,
it is fun.
“Your avid fans watch all the eras, and they know all the
players and remember what they like from each of the players in each of the
different eras. That is a great thing when you come back to the junior hockey
rinks.”
During his days with the Blades, Clark never got to play in
the SaskTel Centre, which hosted its first Blades game on Feb. 9, 1988. He
suited up for the Blades when they played out of the now demolished Saskatoon
Arena, which was located in the city’s downtown core.
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| Wendel Clark, right, signs an autograph for a young fan. |
“It is your first time really away from home and the friends
you met as teammates and your billets you become lifelong friends (with) and
just all the people around town,” said Clark. “When you get a great city like
Saskatoon to be able to play junior hockey in, it is some of your best memories
is playing junior hockey.”
On the ice, Clark remembers being in countless battles with
the Blades long time arch rivals the Regina Pats, and witnessed what was a new
rivalry take shape at the time with the Prince Albert Raiders, who left junior
A for the major junior ranks in 1982 and won the Memorial Cup in 1985.
“You play them 12 or 14 times,” said Clark, who is widely
regarded as the best player to ever suit up for the Blades. “There had to be a
love hate just because of how much you played each other.”
Clark also suited up for Canada at the world junior
championships during the 1984-85 campaign, where he helped Canada win gold in
Helsinki, Finland. During that tournament, he netted four goals and two assists
in seven games.
During those world juniors, Clark gained a new respect for
one of his junior hockey rivals in Raiders head coach Terry Simpson, who was
also the head coach of Clark’s world junior team.
“Terry (Simpson) was renowned,” said Clark. “He built all
those teams in tier two and then he went on.
“I had Terry (as a coach) after the world juniors as well
with the Leafs as an assistant coach. He was just one of those guys that was
always around the game. He loved the game and was student of the game by how
much he changed and learned.
“Anywhere he coached, he had great hockey teams.”
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| A bobblehead doll of Wendel Clark as a member of the Saskatoon Blades. |
The 50-year-old recently finished writing an autobiography
called “Bleeding Blue: Giving My All for the Game.” The book provided another
avenue to interact with the fans.
“The book is great,” said Clark. “I did the tour in November
just before Christmas with it.
“It did well, and I had a lot fun with it. I told a lot of
stories and reminisced. Now, it has calmed down from the book selling tour, but
it was a fun thing to do.”
While he will always be remembered for his playing days with
the Leafs, Clark will always look forward to the next time he gets to run back
to Saskatoon.
Kustra and Shmyr down with concussions
Kustra was injured with 10:41 to play in the third, when he
was hit into the boards by Rebels winger and former Blade teammate Cameron
Hausinger. Following the hit, Kustra was taken off the ice by a stretcher.
Besides suffering a concussion, Kustra sustained a
laceration to his head. The Yorkton, Sask., product has appeared in 30 games
this season netting a goal and three assists.
Hausinger was given a checking to the head major and a game
misconduct for that hit. The replay in the building showed Kustra had slipped
trying to avoid the hit, which resulted in him being in a vulnerable position.
Shmyr was injured after receiving a high hit from Rebels defenceman
Colton Bobyk. Shmyr leads the Blades in scoring netting a career high 27 goals
and equaling a career high with 22 assists in 53 games.
With Kustra and Shmyr following concussion injury protocols,
the Blades didn’t set any timelines for any possible returns. The WHL hasn’t
announced if there will be any suspensions from Saturday’s game.
Saskatoon also lost winger Lukus MacKenzie to injury in
Saturday’s win. MacKenzie injured his shoulder in a second period fight with
Rebels winger Evan Polei.
The Blades return to action Friday, when they host the Moose
Jaw Warriors at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
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