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Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 5 Draft Picks of All-Time

By Andrew Bottomley

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Auston Matthews poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number one overall draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Auston Matthews poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number one overall draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Feb 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Former Toronto Maple Leafs player Wendel Clark (17) is introduced in a pre-game ceremony honoring alumni players as Red Kelly (4) and Rick Vaive (22) applaud against the Winnipeg Jets at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Jets 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Wendel Clark: 1985 NHL Entry Draft – First Round (first overall)

GP: 793     G: 330     PTS: 564

Wendel Clark is in the conversation for the greatest Leaf captain of all time, a position he filled between 19991 and 1994 – three of this 13 years in Toronto.

Clark produced instant dividends for Toronto. He scored 34 goals in 66 games as a 19-year-old and added 227 penalty minutes. The combination of his physical play and offensive ability won him the hearts of so many Leaf fans.

However, his physical playing style resulted in numerous injuries that slowed his career down. Over three season between 1987-90, Clark only managed to play in 81 games – one less than a full NHL season.

In June 1994, the Leafs decided to pull the trigger on a deal that moved Clark to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for another great Leaf captain, Mats Sundin.

He managed to find his way back to Toronto between 1996 and 1998, but then bounced around between Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Chicago before retiring as a Leaf in 2000.

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