It shows the way for lad oddly restricted in stature (9)
I believe the answer is:
headlight
'it shows the way' is the definition.
'lad oddly restricted in stature' is the wordplay.
'oddly' means one should take alternating letters.
'restricted' becomes 'dl' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'stature' becomes 'height' ('height' can be a synonym of 'stature').
The alternating letters of 'lad' are 'a'.
'a'+'dl'='adl'
'adl' placed into 'height' is 'HEADLIGHT'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for headlight that I've seen before include "Given shiner" , "clarifies the way forward" , "Powerful car lamp" , "What motorist may use" , "Car beam" .)