PLAYER PROFILE – Emerson Clark, who was born and brought up in Whitby, Ontario, on December 17, 1992, is a 5‘10” player. A two-sport athlete who played both ice hockey and lacrosse, Clark has a special place in Oshawa sports history, as he is the only player to play for both the Oshawa Generals and the Oshawa FireWolves. The 33-year-old is currently a forward for the FireWolves organization.
Emerson Clark: The Forward Who Played For Both the FireWolves and the Generals
Childhood
Emerson’s mother, Lisa Clark, was known as a figure skater until the age of 19. Three of her four children, including Emerson Clark, gravitated towards ice hockey. This is what Lisa said about wanting to play ice hockey, according to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of Yahoo Sports!:
“The best part of hockey, the most important part of hockey, is being able to skate,” she said. “If you can’t skate, you can’t play. You’re never going to be any good. If I can teach you to be the fastest guy out there and the strongest guy on your feet, that’s what’s going to make your game.”
Emerson Clark’s first name came from race car driver Emerson Fittipaldi, a car driver that Emerson’s mother, Lisa Clark, was a big fan of. While his role models growing up were his parents, his ice hockey role model growing up was Wendel Clark. His favourite type of music is anything country and rock, his favourite video game is Call of Duty, his favourite person to meet is Will Ferrell, and outside of work, he is an avid outdoorsman who likes hunting and fishing, according to the Toledo Blade.
Clark played for three years with the Whitby Warriors from 2011-13. Most notably, his performance in the 2012 playoffs, where he had five goals and three assists, and in the 2013 season, where he had three goals and ten assists in only the right games, shows how good a player Clark is.
In addition, his first memories of playing ice hockey were playing for his hometown team, the Whitby Wildcats U16 AAA from 2007-08 and the Whitby Fury of the OJHL from 2008-09.
He also played four years in the Ontario Hockey League (2009-13), with three of them with the Oshawa Generals (2009-12), and one of them with the Windsor Spitfires (2012-13).
Professional Ice Hockey Career (2013-20)
Clark had his first taste of professional ice hockey after junior ice hockey with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. This is what he said about this approach, according to the PHPA website:
Reflecting on his approach, Clark noted, “Just adding that physical element to my game definitely helped me. I wasn’t the most skilled player, so I felt bringing a physical element and focusing on my defensive play helped me throughout my career.”
He also said this in the same article:
“I really enjoyed my time playing,” recalled Clark. “I was signing mostly 1-year contracts, so every year new opportunities came, and I was able to take them. But I did start falling in love with every team I played with. Just the different organizations and the guys I played with made my time with every team so special.”
Later in his ice hockey career, Clark played with his brother, Everett, with the Jacksonville Icemen. This is what he said, according to Clayton Freeman for the Jacksonville.com website:
“It’s pretty cool,” Emerson said. “I think the last time we were together was probably mini-sticks in our basement.”
In the same Freeman article, this is what then, Jacksonville Icemen head coach, Doug Christie, said about Emerson Clark:
“He’s a heart-and-soul guy. Everything’s on his sleeve,” Christie said. “He’s a warrior.”
Clark left the hockey game to work at CTMS Travel. His experience as an Alumni Member of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) played a role in his transition, according to the CISION website.
However, three years later, he would get involved in another sport he loved playing growing up, box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
Note #1: With the ECHL, he played for the Toledo Walleye from 2013-14, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits from 2014-16, the Tulsa Oilers from 2015-16, and the Tulsa Oilers from 2016-17. He also played for the Jacksonville Icemen from 2017-18, where he played with his brother Everett. He was also with the team from 2019-20. Emerson Clark also played with the Newfoundland Growlers and the Allen Americans from 2018-19.
Note #2: With the AHL, he played for the Chicago Wolves from 2015-16 and 2016-17. He also played with the Utica Comets from 2016-17, and the San Jose Barracuda from 2017-18, and lastly, the Toronto Marlies and the Milwaukee Admirals, both in the 2018-19 AHL season.
It is all mentioned on the NHL website.
NLL
Las Vegas Desert Dogs (2022-23)
For the 2022-23 NLL season, Emerson Clark made his debut in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) with the then-expansion side, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. This is what Clark said, according to the CTMS Travel Group link, as seen below, because of a call from National Lacrosse League (NLL) Hall of Famer Shawn Williams:
“It obviously took some time for me to decide, considering I hadn’t played lacrosse in a while,” he shared. “I ultimately missed the camaraderie of teammates in a locker room and the atmosphere of an arena full of people, something I’ve known since I was four years old.”
He would then play five games for the Buffalo Bandits from 2023-24, before moving to the Oshawa FireWolves.
Oshawa FireWolves (2026-Present)
There was one thing the Whitby native, Clark, said about playing in his home, the Durham Region, with the Oshawa FireWolves, according to the Oshawa FireWolves Facebook Page on February 13, 2026:
“I grew up playing here, and this place is home.”
How he got to the FireWolves is the interesting story, as the FireWolves general manager, Glenn Clark, sealed the deal according to the Oshawa FireWolves website:
“Glenn gave me a call shortly after the Halifax game… seeing where I was, what my thoughts were with joining the team,” Clark recalled. “We talked about a lot of things, and I was signed to the practice roster, and once I was ready, I was moved to the active roster and suited up for Oshawa last week against Toronto.”
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His first-ever game was on the road against the Toronto Rock in Hamilton at Ricoh Coliseum on February 7, where they lost by a scoreline of 10-12. He made his debut in Oshawa as the FireWolves hosted the San Diego Seals, a game which the FireWolves lost 13-7 on February 14.
Games Coming Up for the Oshawa FireWolves
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The Oshawa FireWolves’ next game will be on March 28, as they host the Rochester Knighthawks at the Tribute Communities Centre at 7:00 pm EDT. The game will be shown live on TSN+ in Canada, ESPN+ in the U.S., and NLL+ internationally.
Photo Credit: Emerson Clark (7 – Oshawa Firewolves) during a National Lacrosse League game between the Oshawa Firewolves and the San Diego Seals at the Tribute Communities Centre on February 14, 2026, in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/David Pickering – Pick’s Pics/NLL