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Wendel Clark: Toronto’s 1st Ever 1st Overall Draft Pick

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Wendel Clark was the first overall pick at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the Saskatoon Blades. Of the first round picks that year, Clark ended up sixth in games played with 793 (Dave Manson and Calle Johansson played over 1,100). His 564 points were exceeded by Ulf Dahlen and Derek King.

Clark’s 793 regular season and 95 playoff games were played between 1985-86 and 1999-00 with the Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

The other first overall pick for the Maple Leafs is Auston Matthews. Matthews was selected by Toronto in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and, so far, has turned out pretty well. Of the 30 players selected in that 2016 first round, Matthews has the most goals and assists, to date. Matthew Tkachuk has the most assists and games played.

As for the three false options, Rick Vaive was the fifth overall pick in 1979, going to the Vancouver Canucks. Russ Courtnall went seventh overall to Toronto in 1983. Steve Thomas was undrafted but went on to an NHL career consisting of 1,235 regular season and 174 playoff games between 1984-85 and 2003-04 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Anaheim Might Ducks and Detroit Red Wings.

If you’re looking to truly test your hockey trivia knowledge, take a 20 Question Hockey Trivia Quiz!

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