Former NHL enforcers Joey Kocur and Kelly Chase recalled a wild bar brawl involving Maple Leafs legend Wendel Clark. Although Clark played a key role for Toronto, he was not afraid to drop the gloves and defend both himself and his teammates.
Kocur and Chase looked back at a bar fight that saw Clark team up with several NHL enforcers. Based on the timeline, it appears to have taken place not long after their junior hockey careers. They shared a connection as Saskatoon Blades alumni and natives of Kelvington, Saskatchewan.
The former NHL enforcers recalled the chaotic scene and found humor in the fact that the former Leafs captain no pushover.
“We thought Wendel [Clark] was getting beaten up by a bunch of guys and we turned the whole bar over to make sure he was okay,” Kocur said during his appearance on the Ice Guardians Podcast. “Well, he was okay.”
Former St. Louis Blues captain Brett Hull then chimed in. He marveled at Clark’s toughness, particularly his fighting skill, which he witnessed on the ice.
“I’ve seen the Wendel Clark fight tape. Yeah, he’s okay.”
GettyTORONTO, ONTARIO – NOVEMBER 17: Wendel Clark skates in warm-ups prior to the Legends Classic game at Scotiabank Arena on November 17, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Kelly Chase Recalls Chaotic Bar Brawl Involving Maple Leafs Legend Wendel Clark
Kelly Chase recalled the chaotic bar brawl and noted that former Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark tried to calm down his brother, Kerry Clark.
“Kerry [Clark] swung this biker around, hit his leg on this foosball table that was bolted to the ground. So imagine, a leg hitting that and snapped it, 90 degrees,” Chase said during the Ice Guardians Podcast. “He’s down on top of him and he’s just pounding on him, the guy’s got on a leather jacket over his head, and finally Wendel comes and lifts Kerry saying, ‘That’s enough!’”
He continued:
“The big shark gets off him and the guy pulls his jacket over his head, and I don’t know who this guy was because it wasn’t the same guy that went down. His face looked lumped and everything,” he said. “Wendel’s got this guy by the jacket and he’s bleeding, so it looks like Wendel’s been fighting.”
Chase added that the brawl was far from over and escalated further.
Chase Says Ex-NHL Enforcers Helped Clark
It certainly was not the right time to go after Clark, as there were several other eventual NHL enforcers who intervened. They had all gone to the bar together, so it was not a case of one of Clark being outnumbered.
Chase recalled that the brawl escalated once they all got involved.
“Joey [Kocur] and Donn [Clark] come in, ‘What’s going on?’ [One of them throws] a shuffleboard rock through the middle of them. Donn, piling over the pool table—and Donn’s a big man, so it was hard for him to get over a pool table,” Chase said. “Wendel’s holding the guy and the guy’s just looking half dead, and Donn Clark smokes the guy. Down he goes.”
The former St. Louis Blues enforcer recalled one moment that makes everyone involved laugh about to this day.
“The next thing that made me laugh, Kevin Kaminski‘s fighting this guy and goes, ‘Look, he wrecked my Saturday shirt.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Ex-NHL Enforcers Recall Wild Bar Brawl Involving Maple Leafs Legend Wendel Clark appeared first on HEAVY.