Clark Gillies
| Clark Gillies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2002 | |||
| Born |
April 7, 1954 Moose Jaw, SK, CAN |
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| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
New York Islanders Buffalo Sabres |
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| National team |
 Canada
|
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| NHL Draft | 4th overall, 1974 New York Islanders |
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| WHA Draft | 37th overall, 1974 Edmonton Oilers |
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| Playing career | 1974–1988 | ||
Clark "Jethro" Gillies (born April 7, 1954) is a former professional ice hockey player. He provided both physical presence and offensive punch for the NHL's New York Islanders during their four-year run as Stanley Cup champions. In a career that spanned 958 games, Gillies notched 319 goals, 378 assists, and 1023 penalty minutes. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
Gillies earned his tough-guy reputation in the Canadian Junior leagues, earning 570 penalty minutes in 201 games with the Regina Pats. In 1974, Gillies and the Pats won the Memorial Cup. Later that year, the Islanders made him their first round selection in the NHL draft, taking him 4th overall. Gillies would also be selected by the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers in the WHA draft, but Gillies signed with the Islanders, making the team right out of training camp. It was during his rookie season of 1974–1975 in the playoffs that Gillies established himself as one of the toughest players in the NHL, pummeling Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Dave Schultz who he is currently friendly with.
Gillies scored over 30 goals for four straight seasons as part of the "Trio Grande", the Islanders' top forward line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier, and was named to the NHL's All-Star team twice.
In the latter half of the 1976-77 NHL season, Gillies was named team captain; however, in spite of Gillies' articulate speaking manner and amiable nature, he never felt completely comfortable as team captain and it affected his play adversely in big games. Gillies captained the Islanders through two big disappointments in his two-year stint as captain, in part because the Islanders appeared to lack a team toughness. During the pre-season of the 1979–1980 season Gillies allowed Denis Potvin to take over as captain.
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