TORONTO -- Wendel Clark doesn't lace up the skates that often anymore.
The 50-year-old will make appearances from time to time at charity games but that is the extent of the action he sees on the ice.
So when the former Toronto Maple Leafs captain plays in the 2017 Rogers Centennial Classic Alumni game against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, he cautioned not to expect the kind of speed that will be on display Sunday when the current players take the ice.
"The alumni game starting out, you'll get to see all the guys' names and numbers on their jerseys perfectly; we'll be going at a perfect speed so you can easily recognize everybody," Clark said.
Though he joked that he certainly is not the player he was twenty years ago, the experience of getting out on the ice with some former teammates and opponents in an outdoor setting at Exhibition Stadium is one that never gets old.
"It's great fun for us alumni guys, you're playing for two storied franchises and you know the players on both teams really well," Clark said. "It's a lot of fun and there's a lot of good ribbing that goes on amongst the guys so it's a really good experience for everybody."
The last time these two alumni groups met was at Comerica Park in Detroit prior to the 2014 Bridgestone Winter Classic. On that day, two alumni games were played with Red Wings winning both, so Clark is hoping that the Maple Leafs can return the favor back on home ice in Toronto.
"What usually happens in the game is that it starts out fun going back and forth but then as the game gets older, the competitive juices in all the players, if it's a close game near the end, everybody gets trying a little harder," Clark said. "I might even almost block a shot if it gets down to that, I said 'almost!' but it's a lot of fun and the guys really make a good show."
Looking at the current group of Maple Leafs, Clark is in a unique position to understand the pressures faced by rookie center Auston Matthews, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Prior to Matthews, Clark was the last player selected No. 1 by the Maple Leafs, in 1985. Matthews has not seemed to need much advice. He has 16 goals and 26 points in 33 games this season.
"I'm [an] 'old guy' now so he's got a great group around him. The greatest thing for Auston being here at this time is he's got a great management group from [president Brendan Shanahan] to [general manager Lou Lamoriello] to [coach Mike Babcock] who can really protect and put him in situations in a tough city at times to protect him," Clark said. "In general though, he's handled himself well. Really he does all his speaking by how he plays and that's the best way to play as a player is doing it on the ice."
Clark is not only encouraged by the progress of Matthews, but by the Maple Leafs overall. With an elite core of young talent surrounding Matthews which includes forwards Mitchell Marner, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri, and defensemen Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, he feels that a bright future is awaiting.
"We've been bad for a while and we've got some great draft picks and with those draft picks, they're on the ice now and being that they are highly talented kids, they're stepping right in and playing well at a young age," Clark said. "The great thing is that they are all at the same age at the same time, they're coming up together and having a lot of fun playing. They're competitive, they're right there and so it's a good sign for the team to grow together as a group."
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