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Leaf legend makes appearance in Estevan

There was plenty of Toronto Maple Leafs' apparel to be seen at the Estevan Canadian Tire location on Saturday. Former Leaf forward Wendel Clark was at the store to sign autographs for roughly two hours.
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Wendel Clark was in Estevan last weekend to sign autograph for local fans.


There was plenty of Toronto Maple Leafs' apparel to be seen at the Estevan Canadian Tire location on Saturday.

Former Leaf forward Wendel Clark was at the store to sign autographs for roughly two hours.
Along with items brought by fans of the retired star, there were also jerseys, books and sticks on site to be purchased and signed by Clark.

Although he laced up for six different teams over a 15-year career, Clark is best known for his heyday with the Leafs, the team that drafted him first overall in 1985, including two runs to the Western Conference final in 1993 and 1994.

The Kelvington native, now 45, appears at 150-200 events a year while serving as an ambassador for the Leafs.

"(Darryl) Sittler and I do the same job, representing the team around the Toronto area, doing a lot of functions," he said. "The fans are all great. There are a lot of huge Leaf fans from when we had the big runs in the '90s. It's always exciting to get out and meet fans of the game."

Clark now lives north of Toronto but still has family and some farmland in Kelvington and makes a trip home once a year.

Clark scored 330 goals in a career that spanned less than 800 games, but he was a unique breed who was just as likely to drop the gloves as put the puck in the net.

But his pugnacious style wore down his body over time and he was forced to retire at just 33 years old after three stints with the Leafs and time spent with the Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

He believes playing in the NHL today would be easier for him, despite its emphasis on more speed and less rough stuff.

"Actually, it'd probably be easier with nobody holding you up. The game has changed in that it's taken some of the clutching and grabbing out and the speed of the game up," he said. "Once you start changing the game, you have to keep tweaking it. It's not right or wrong, it's just evolution."
Despite his crash-and-bang game and unique place in the hearts of Leafs' fans, Clark said his style wasn't anything special.

"There are lots of players (in today's game) who can play a physical style and put the puck in the net. (Milan) Lucic is one, for Boston, but he's a bigger guy than I was."

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