One of Flin Flon’s favourite sons got another turn in the spotlight last week.
Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Clarke was the subject of a short documentary that was broadcast for the first time on television last week.
The piece, just short of six minutes in length, aired during TSN’s Nov. 2 broadcast of the Winnipeg Jets-Dallas Stars game in Winnipeg. Veteran sports journalist Michael Farber narrated the piece.
A TSN camera crew came to the community last Feburary to shoot the piece. During his time back home, Clarke took part in a “Bobby Clarke Night” with the Bombers, dropping a puck during a ceremonial faceoff, signing autographs for fans and donning his old maroon-and-white jersey.
The film takes viewers through Clarke’s past and connections with the community. Clarke speaks about his father, a long-time HBM&S employee and former fire chief, his time with the Bombers and working for HBM&S and the future of Flin Flon.
“If you’ve been here and lived here, for all of the people who’ve done that, Flin Flon has that clutch on them,” said Clarke, who took crews around the community. “This place was special for me.”
In addition to Clarke, Flin Flon Mayor Cal Huntley, Bomber head coach and GM Mike Reagan and Clarke’s former Bomber teammate Ron Burwash all make appearances.
The Reminder itself played a small role in the production, providing information about local events and locations to shoot.
“This is a town known across the country, in part because of Bobby,” said TSN feature producer Matt Cade to The Reminder last February during shooting. “At least in hockey circles and NHL terms, he’s the big guy from here for sure.”
“We’ve talked to him about Flin Flon and we know it means a lot to him. 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.”
The film is available to watch on TSN’s website.
