Bleeding Blue – Giving My All For The Game – Wendel Clark
Reviewed by Christine Dimoff
Growing up as a Leaf fan I had two favourite players – Rick Vaive and Wendel Clark. In the 1980s there wasn’t much for Leaf fans to cheer about. The team didn’t have much playoff success and didn’t qualify for the playoffs in 3 of the first 5 seasons to start the decade. When the 1984-85 season ended I was 16 years old and I wrote in my scrapbook “Hooray, the worst season in Leafs’ history is over”! It must have been pretty bad!
In his book “Bleeding Blue – Giving My All For The Game”, Wendel Clark describes his life growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan and his junior hockey career that led him to his dream of becoming an NHL player. On June 15, 1985, that dream came true when Maple Leafs General Manager Gerry McNamara selected Wendel Clark the 1st overall pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As a young fan of the team, I remember how excited the fan base was because the Leafs had never chosen 1st overall in the NHL Entry Draft. The only thing that was a worry for fans was if the Leafs management would make a mistake and choose a player that would not end up being an NHLer. Thankfully, Gerry McNamara made the right choice.
In Wendel’s first season as a Leaf, he scored 34 goals, which was a Leaf rookie record until Auston Matthews broke that record scoring 40 goals in his first season as a Leaf. Wendel had the scoring touch, but what made him popular with the fans was how he played. He was a blue-collar player, who could fight and score with his wicked wrist shot! In the book, he talks about different players that he had fought and how he would prepare for a fight. He also made note of a Leaf player that wasn’t known for his toughness but, pound for pound Wendel thinks was one of the best fighters in the league! Any guesses who it is? Read on to find out!
In the 1985-86 season, a formidable new line was formed in the Leafs lineup. The Hound Line, which consisted of Wendel Clark, Russ Courtnall, and Gary Leeman became the most popular with fans. I was surprised that the book doesn’t talk much about it. All three had played at Notre Dame College, for “The Hounds” in Wilcox, Saskatchewan; hence the nickname. In Wendel’s sophomore season I remember going to a Newmarket Saints game, which at the time was the Leafs AHL farm team. A few of us went because all 3 players were going to be signing autographs. What is funny is I don’t remember watching the game, but I remember waiting for hours in a huge line to meet my favourite hockey player!
Little attention is paid to the seasons in the late ‘80s, which makes sense because there wasn’t much to cheer about. There is a chapter on Wendel’s experience in international play. He played in the 1985 World Juniors for Team Canada and won the gold medal in that tournament. He was invited to both the 1987 and 1991 Team Canada’s camps but ultimately was cut from both teams. In 1991, with the hiring of Cliff Fletcher things would begin to change for the Leafs.
Fletcher would make Clark the 15th Captain in Maple Leaf history. He would trade for Doug Gilmour and Grant Fuhr in January of 1992 and then, at the end of the ’92 season, Fletcher hired Pat Burns as head coach. From there the Leafs had two magical seasons ’92 -’93 and ’93-’94. Both seasons we got to the conference finals but would fall short of making the Stanley Cup Finals. After the ’92-93 playoff run, the city held a rally for fans and I remember being there with Syl. As diehard fans, we were upset that our team didn’t make it to the finals, but at the same time felt we were a part of that team, which captivated the city for those two seasons.
Wendel spoke about Coach Pat Burns and his teammates, Gilmour and Potvin. It was fun to read about events that I didn’t know about at the time. Some things weren’t so fun. Wendel’s style of play had caused back issues that he dealt with throughout his career. In Game 6 of the conference final series vs. the L.A. Kings, in the ‘93 playoffs, he scored a hat trick to push the pivotal game to overtime. Having watched his heroic efforts, I was surprised to read how much pain he was in during that series. Wendel was never the fastest skater, but you would never have known that he was struggling. At the time I thought it was one of his best games of the series!
At the end of the ’94 season, Wendel was traded to the Quebec Nordiques for Mats Sundin. The book explains how Wendel found out about the trade and how he felt at the time. When your favourite player, who was the heart and soul of the team, is traded for a player you don’t know, a lot about it was devastating. Even though Mats went on to have a great career with the Leafs I never saw him as the heart and soul leader that was Wendel Clark.
Wendel returned to Toronto at the end of the 1995-96 season. He said it was a special night in his career. I remember the excitement of the crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens in Wendel’s first game back, but to be on the same team with the player he was traded for, Mats Sundin, made for an interesting dynamic, which he notes in the book. Wendel would spend another 2 seasons wearing the Maple Leafs uniform before he moved on again. He would play 15 NHL seasons, 13 with the Leafs, before officially retiring on June 29, 2000.
Going back to which teammate Clark thought was one of the best fighters in the league—none other than Todd Gill! As a Leaf fan, that revelation surprised me! Every story in “Bleeding Blue – Giving My All for the Game”, details Wendel Clark’s heart and soul relationship with hockey, the Leafs, and with the fans. He loved being a Leaf. Any fan of Wendel Clark’s and the Toronto Maple Leafs will enjoy reading his book.