Wendel Clark reflected on his NHL career and revealed why he switched to forward after being drafted. Clark played his entire junior career with the Saskatoon Blades as a defenseman. However, he switched to forward when he began his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Clark, 59, was selected 1st overall by the Maple Leafs in the 1985 NHL Draft. Despite being drafted as a defenseman, he was immediately moved to forward at the start of training camp. He remained a forward for his entire 15-year NHL career and was known for his toughness on the ice.
The position change was successful. Clark finished his rookie season with 45 points in 66 games and led the Leafs in scoring with 34 goals.
Maple Leafs Legend Wendel Clark Reveals Switching to Forward was Not His Choice
Getty14 Nov 1996: Leftwinger Wendel Clark of the Toronto Maple Leafs moves the puck during a game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. The Kings won the game, 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport
According to Wendel Clark, switching from defense to forward was not his choice. The former Maple Leafs captain recalled being informed that he would be playing as a forward. That decision did not bother him, as it meant he would be staying in the NHL rather than returning to junior.
“I started [with the Maple Leafs] as a forward, I got to training camp and they said, ‘You’re a forward,” Clark said during his appearance on Clearing The Crease. “But, I met [former Leafs general manager] Gerry McNamara just before he passed. We had a coffee and he had said, ‘No, it was in my head the whole time.” He didn’t tell anybody, but that was probably because he had never seen me skating backwards. I was always offensive up there in junior. So as long as I was staying in the NHL, it didn’t bother me.”
Clark noted that he only played forward in three games during the World Juniors at the time. He joked that the Leafs’ management basically made the 1st overall draft selection based on a three-game sample size.
“I played three games forward in the World Juniors and three games defense in the World Juniors. So, the Leafs only scouted me for three games. Only three games in two years they scouted me, ‘He’s a forward.'”
Clark Says He Would Not Have Played Forward If He Was Drafted Elsewhere
Clark also said that he would not have been playing forward if he was drafted by another franchise.
The former Maple Leafs captain revealed that he met with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was also aware of strong interest from the New York Islanders, who attempted to move up in the draft.
“Had I been drafted to any other team, I would have been a defenseman. When I was interviewing [with] Pittsburgh, Simpson went [2nd overall] because they had Mario [Lemieux]. So now they’re going for the big D because one year later, they traded for Coffey,” Clark told Clearing The Crease. “The Islanders had two 1st round picks and they’d made a trade offer with the Leafs because Potvin was retiring. So I’d have been a defenseman there. Everywhere I interviewed, it was a defenseman role for sure.”
Maple Leafs Legend Wendel Clark Reveals the Real Reason He Switched to Forward