It’s been more than 50 years since a young Bobby Clarke first stepped on the Whitney Forum ice with the Flin Flon Bombers.
Now viewers nationwide will learn about the hockey legend and the role the Bombers and community have played in his life.
Clarke, 67, will be the focus of a short TSN documentary exploring his roots in his hometown. A TSN crew joined Clarke in Flin Flon last week to gather footage.
“We’ve talked to him about Flin Flon and we know it means a lot to him,” said TSN feature producer Matt Cade. “As far as we could tell, we’ve never seen any stories with him here, especially in the winter. This was something we wanted to try to do.”
Clarke was born in Flin Flon in 1949 to parents who moved to Flin Flon to find work. His father worked at HBM&S and served as the town fire chief.
He played three seasons with the Bombers before embarking on an illustrious NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Along with other former Bomber stars like Blaine Stoughton and teammate Reggie Leach, Clarke helped put Flin Flon on the hockey map.
“This is a town known across the country, in part because of Bobby,” said Cade. “At least in hockey circles and NHL terms, he’s the big guy from here for sure.”
The TSN film will be a short piece, likely around five minutes, to be shown either during a TSN SportsCentre broadcast or a hockey program. No broadcast date has been announced.
A film crew was seen around Flin Flon last week, shooting area scenery, interviews and the Bombers in action at their famed arena.
The shoot included footage from the Bombers’ home game last Friday, Feb. 24 against the Humboldt Broncos, where Clarke dropped a puck in a ceremonial faceoff.
Cade was struck by the sense of community felt by many Flin Flonners, including Clarke.
“People have similar stories about when they’re outside of Flin Flon and they mention to someone that they’re from here, there’s always some sort of positive reaction,” Cade said. “‘Oh, I know somebody from there!’, ‘Oh, I played hockey with somebody from there!’ I think that if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that there’s a certain pride that comes from being from Flin Flon.”
The TSN feature is the second documentary piece involving the Bombers to be shot this season.
In early February, a New York-based production company shot a short documentary on the Bombers, aiming for a programming deal with American network ESPN.
