Wendel Clark
Canadian ice hockey player
Wendel Lee Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. He was chosen first overall in the 1985 NHL entry draft by the Maple Leafs, the team he played with on three occasions, captaining the team from 1991 to 1994. Clark is a fan favourite in Toronto, continuing to represent the Maple Leafs at public events.
Playing career
Junior
A star junior hockey defenceman with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League, Clark was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 1985 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–1994)
Clark was converted to forward after he was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1985 NHL entry draft. Clark was known for his physical play and his offensive mind combined with scoring prowess. As tough as Clark was, his scoring touch and offensive ability was equal to his on-ice toughness. Clark's 227 PIM in his rookie season was the 1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs team-high, along with 34 goals which also led the team. After his rookie season, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and finished second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, (behind Gary Suter of the Calgary Flames).
The public source identifies “Wendel Clark” as canadian ice hockey player. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wendel, Clark and Canadian.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Wendel Clark”, the useful work is to connect “canadian ice hockey player” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1365126. VIAF identifies the subject as 43146332801018730769. The Library of Congress control number is no2019123764. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1966, 1985, 2000 and 1991.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Wendel Clark” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.