“Quiet force” Donn Clark to be inducted into Raiders’ Wall of Honour

Clark would later re-join the Raiders as Head Coach in 2000, staying with the organization as Director of Player Personnel and General Manager until 2008.

Today, Clark’s health has taken a turn for the worse as he continues to battle cancer in Saskatoon.

His youngest brother Kerry, now a police officer in Toronto, said Donn has approached his current battle the same way he’s dealt with anything else in his life.

“He’s at the final stages of battling cancer, and he’s done it proudly,” Kerry said. “He’s held his head high and he’s never complained. Every battle, he’s hit it head first all the time and that’s just the way he is.”

While Donn won’t be able to make it to the game Friday night to receive the honour, Kerry said he knows it means a lot to his brother.

“Donn is very appreciative because he loved the community, he loved being there and being part of the family that has made the PA Raiders have such a rich history,” Clark said. “There’s different people that make up a team and make a team successful, and [in joining the Wall of Honour] he’s joining a very high class crew that helped put PA on the map, and in my personal view, I think it’s a very big honour for us as a family and I’m very proud of my brother that he’s earned that.”

Dave Manson had the opportunity to play alongside Clark in Prince Albert in that 1982-83 season when the future NHLer was called up to play a few games as a 15-year-old. He remembers Donn as a very welcoming player.

“He was a caregiver in the fact that he looked after the young guys, welcomed them, made you feel at home, and also looked after you on the ice,” Manson said.

Years later, it was Clark who welcomed Manson into the next stage of his hockey career as a coach once his playing days were behind him.

“They had let their coach go a little bit into the season, and Donny asked me if I could help fill the void until he could find a new coach for the Raiders. He wanted me to fill in and help Neil Brady at the time to get through that little period of interviewing. I owe him a lot for introducing me to the coaching side of hockey.”

Today, Manson’s coaching career has taken him beyond Prince Albert and into the professional ranks, where he currently works with the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors.

Duane “Puff” Bartley is currently the athletic therapist for the Raiders, a position he has held since Clark hired him in 2001. He remembers how it all started in the unlikeliest of places: the Kelvington Hotel.

“When I first met Donn it was actually over a coffee in Kelvington, Sask. with his mom. The three of us had coffee together and that’s kind of how I got the job,” Bartley recalled.

At the time, Bartley was working with the Kindersley Klippers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and the Raiders’ previous therapist had quit unexpectedly in August. Clark called Bartley to arrange a meeting at the hotel in Kelvington, and within hours of the meeting called him back to offer the job, with a starting date within days.

Clark was replaced as head coach in the 2001-02 season by his assistant Wade Klippenstein and would stay on as General Manager until 2008. Klippenstein’s tenure ended in 2002-03 as he was replaced by Peter Anholt, and the Raiders continued to work toward building a contender.

“When [Donn] hired Peter Anholt, the three of us worked well together alongside Puff. We changed some things, empowered some younger guys, and we were able to take a run at the East Division Final [in 2005].” Manson said.

“He was a man that made going to work fun, but he was also demanding. You always knew when he had something to get off his chest, he’d rearrange his belt a couple times and then we’d get things going.”

Despite moving from the bench into the manager’s office, Clark remained a fiery competitor. Bartley remembers a playoff game with a controversial finish that had both Clark and Anholt heated.

“I’m sure people remember a game here where Luke Fritshaw got hooked down behind the net in overtime, and they ended up scoring. The fans wouldn’t let the referee off the ice,” said Bartley with a chuckle. “There was a lot of debris flying, and Peter Anholt headed out onto the ice to go confront the referee at centre ice. Clarky was meeting him at the referee ramp the other way saying, ‘I got him beat!’ I think we got a thousand dollar fine for that one, and the RCMP had to escort the referee out of the building that night.”

While Clark had his share of penalty minutes as a player during his junior career, his younger brother Kerry said he still had a more measured approach than his siblings.

“He wasn’t a tough guy as in ‘I’m going to go push you around’, he was a tough guy as in ‘ok, I’m going to go stop everything’ when people started to push people around. He was always a quiet force that was very smart and very articulate in how he did things,” Kerry said.

Despite stops in Saskatoon and elsewhere both as a player and as a coach, Donn feels a lot of pride as a Raider alum.

“I know he’s very grateful and very honoured to be part of a rich history in the past and going into the future. You don’t find many organizations like that, and a classy organization,” Kerry said.

“In his heart of hearts he would love to be there on the ice to accept it. In his spirit he’s there, in his heart he’s there.”

Raiders wrap homestand against Rebels

Following Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime setback to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Raiders are back in action against the Red Deer Rebels as they finish up a five-game homestand. Through four games, the Raiders have a 3-0-1 record, and are now just two points away from clinching the first Scotty Munro Trophy as WHL regular season champions since 1985.

Red Deer enters Friday action on a two-game winning streak after victories in Regina and Moose Jaw earlier this week. The Rebels are currently holding the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, sitting two points ahead of Brandon. In a crowded Central Division, Red Deer is even with Medicine Hat and just three points back of the Calgary Hitmen for third place.

On Saturday, the Raiders will hit the road to wrap up the season series against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

“Quiet force” Donn Clark to be inducted into Raiders’ Wall of Honour

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