David Clarke (born 5 August 1981) is a retired

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and a former member of the British national ice hockey team squad. Clarke was born in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and began playing ice hockey in the local junior development system. He made his senior debut at the age of 15 for the

Peterborough Pirates The Peterborough Pirates were an English ice hockey team. It was established in 1982, as the senior adult semi-professional team of the newly formed Peterborough Ice Hockey Club. ''The Pirates'', based at the East of England Ice Rink, Peterboro ...

in the British National League. He made thirteen appearances for the club throughout the season, scoring one goal. Clarke spent each of the next five seasons playing for the Pirates, totaling 96 points from 135 appearances. He made his debut for the national team in the 1999 World Junior Championships before being promoted into the full seniors a year later. There was a rumour that Clarke would become only the 2nd ever British trained player drafted into the NHL but was passed over in the draft for his lack of size. In 2000, Clarke signed for Superleague side Newcastle Jesters. British players were a rarity in the league at the time and Clarke earned seven points from forty-one appearances. In 2001, financial problems at Newcastle saw Clarke move to the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

, where he scored three points from ten appearances. In 2002, Clarke moved back to the British National League by joining the

Guildford Flames The Guildford Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Guildford, Surrey and they play their home games in the Guildford Spectrum. They compete in the top-tier of hockey in the United Kingdom, the Elite Ice Hockey League. Founded in ...

, scoring forty-nine points in forty-one appearances. When the Superleague folded during the summer of 2003, the remaining clubs formed the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

. Clarke was signed by the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

where he became a fans favourite taking thirty points from forty four games in his first season and sixty-one from sixty in his second. In 2005–06, Clarke re-signed for the third season in Nottingham, totaling 26 points from fouty four appearances.Panthers coach Neilson delighted to re-sign Clarke.
''Nottingham Post.'' 21 April 2009. In the 2006–07 Clarke re-signed once again under new Coach Mike Ellis and Assistant Coach Calle Carllson, Clarke was also named captain following a player vote. For the 2007–08 season, Clarke played for Alleghe in Italy before re-signing for the Nottingham Panthers for the 2008–09 season. Clarke was re-signed by Nottingham for the 2009/10 season where he helped the Panthers win the Challenge cup and qualify for the final four of the Elite league playoffs. The Panthers finished 3rd in the league standings for 2009/10. After the 2010 playoffs, David left with the Team GB squad for the Division 1 World championships in Slovenia where they would end up finishing in 4th position. The GB team fell foul of the Volcanic Ash cloud that cancelled flights throughout Europe at this time and had to endure a 27-hour bus journey from England to Slovenia On 21 April 2010, the Nottingham Panthers issued a press release stating that David Clarke had signed again for the Nottingham club for the forthcoming 2010/2011 season. David Clarke wears the number 5 as his preference. David Clarke officially retired after the 2017/18 EIHL Season.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, David 1981 births English ice hockey left wingers Guildford Flames players Living people London Knights (UK) players Nottingham Panthers players Sportspeople from Peterborough