On May 25, 2012, New Jersey Devils winger David Clarkson was sitting on the bench with laser focus on the action in front of him.
And he wasn’t the only one.
That night, the 17,625 hockey fans who filled the Prudential Center in Newark, wearing red jerseys to show their loyalty to the home team or blue to represent the visiting New York Rangers, shared in his concentration.
With the score tied at 2-2, overtime began with Travis Zajac winning a face-off against Artem Anisimov. A minute later, Devils rookie Adam Henrique shot the puck past opposing goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, and the on-ice celebration began before the goal horn echoed throughout the packed arena.
Like his teammates, Clarkson jumped over the boards to swarm then-21-year-old Henrique as the Devils officially clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.
For Clarkson, it meant he was one step closer to fulfilling the dream he had as a young boy: hoisting the Stanley Cup.
The Devils had one final obstacle to overcome before Clarkson’s dream would become a reality, and it was to earn four wins against the Los Angeles Kings.
From pandemonium at Prudential Center to devastation at the Staples Center 17 days later, New Jersey fell two wins short of the championship.
“It was probably one of the hardest things I have ever been through in my life,” Clarkson said in a phone interview with The Hockey News. “I dreamed as a boy, at the age of three years old, of one day hoisting that Cup. It is very challenging to get there, and to get there and lose it’s tough.
“I never got a chance to get there again.”
© Joe Camporeale-Imagn ImagesClarkson would go on to play an additional 192 NHL games for the Devils, his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets before retiring from the game he loves.
“When (athletes) retire, you kind of feel like you have lost something,” he said. “When I retired, I was in a pretty bad spot in life, and going through a lot.”
With his playing career unfortunately behind him, the Toronto native began looking for purpose and, as he puts it, “a why”.
“I went through a really, really tough time when I had to retire,” he said. “I needed a purpose; I needed to find a why. I tried scouting, I did player development, and the closest I could get to the game was coaching, and I think that helped me.
“I started coaching kids, and it kind of gave me a bit of that why,” Clarkson continued. “I have been doing it for 12 years, coaching and helping kids. I started a youth hockey program four years ago called Okanagan, and it has been pretty cool. We won the national championship this year, and it is the second time in Colorado's history that a team has won a national championship. It has been fun to be a part of these kids' journeys. You get to live through them, which is fun and rewarding.”
Clarkson believes individuals learn more in life from failure than from success, and has always been open with the kids about what he has been through and his struggles to guide them.
“When you are working with these kids, it is always trying to explain the why,” Clarkson said. “Today’s generation, they need to know the why. I talk to people, and they say, ‘Oh, this generation doesn’t work as hard, they don't do these things.’ They really do; it's just they have to know you care about them first. I really had to dig deep, look at myself, look through my struggles and look through experiences I had and what type of coach I wanted to be. It is more about the relationship with the kids. Not every kid is going to always love you or always do things, but if they know that your why is the right why, I think you get a better product out of them.”
The culture Clarkson has established with the kids he works with is influenced by the culture Lou Lamoriello established when he was the general manager in New Jersey.
© Eric Hartline-Imagn Images“It starts with Mr. Lamoriello, to be honest with you,” Clarkson said. “I mean, he was someone that a lot of us needed in our life. It started with Mr. Lamoriello and believing in something. Buying in. The way that we run our program here is pretty simple: it is a choice to be a good person, a choice to work hard, and you have to have fun doing it.
“I feel like the foundation that Mr. Lamoriello instilled in me, you try to take a piece of all those people that you looked up to and make it your own,” he continued. “I think the culture and accountability that Mr. Lamoriello instilled in us as a team was why we were so successful.”
Clarkson spent years playing in the NHL as a power forward. He scored timely goals, fought with zero hesitation, and provided fans with lifelong memories, always making sure every autograph was signed after games. Many reading this will remember him for his battles with Sean Avery or for scoring against the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs and ending up on top of the opposing net.
But for his kids, he was never that player.
“My kids don't even know I played. They are like, ‘Dad, you are a coach, right?’ I'm like, yeah, I'm a coach,” Clarkson said with a chuckle.
Since retiring, Clarkson tends to stay out of the public eye. He will occasionally be a guest on the NHL Network and make his annual appearance at the MB30 Invitational, Martin Brodeur’s annual charity golf tournament, but overall enjoys his quiet life in Colorado.
After a difficult life transistion after retirement, Clarkson discovered a new passion and, in the process, is helping a new generation and continuing a culture that was partially instilled by Mr. Lamoriello.
“I think getting into coaching it kind of gave me a purpose,” he said. “I don't want to say it saved my life, but it kind of did. It gave me a purpose as to how I can help these kids get to where they need to get to.
“For me, successful programs worry about things away from the rink, and I think that kind of separates you. Being on time, being a good person, working hard, and creating a room that whenever you are putting your gear on, you will do anything for each other.”
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