Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter IX: 490-486

490. Pat Conacher

Conacher, a 5’8″, 188 lb. center from Edmonton, Alberta, was born on May 1st, 1959. The New York Rangers drafted him in the fourth round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft with the 76th overall pick. He joined the New Haven Nighthawks in the AHL when the 1979-80 season started, and he played in 53 games for them, scoring firing 11 goals with 14 assists and 43 PiM. He also made 17 appearances with the Rangers, totaling five assists with a minus-10 rating and four PiM.

Conacher skipped the next season, then spent 1981-82 entirely in the AHL with the Springfield Indians (77 games, 23 goals, 22 assists, 38 PiM). 1982-83 would see him play most of the season in the CHL with the Tulsa Oilers (63 games, 29 goals, 28 assists, 44 PiM). He also had an assist and an even rating with four PiM for the Rangers.

Before the beginning of the 1983-84 season, Conacher signed on with the Edmonton Oilers. He scored twice with eight assists in 45 contests, spending 31 minutes in the penalty box. He later spent NHL time with the New Jersey Devils (193 games, 24 goals, 29 assists, plus-12 rating, 75 PiM) and the Los Angeles Kings (241 games, 36 goals, 32 assists, minus-33 rating, 121 PiM).

Conacher scoring for the Kings.

The Kings traded Conacher to the Flames on February 10th for Craig Ferguson. He totaled a minus-1 rating and one shot on goal over seven games as a Flame. On March 20th, they sent him to the New York Islanders with a sixth round pick for Bob Sweeney. He played 13 contests with the Islanders to close out the season and his career, scoring another goal with an assist and a minus-4 rating.

Conacher went into management, and is currently the General Manager for the AHL's Utica Comets.

All-Time Statline: Seven games, zero goals, zero assists, minus-1 rating, zero PiM, -0.19 point shares.

489. Guy Larose

Larose, a Hull, Quebec native, was a 5’9″, 175 center born on August 31st, 1967. After averaging over a point per game with the OHL’s Guelph Platers in 1984-85 (58 games, 30 goals, 30 assists), the Buffalo Sabres selected him in the 11th round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft with the 224th overall pick.

Larose played two more seasons in the OHL between the Platers and the Ottawa 67’s (131 games, 59 goals, 110 assists). He signed a free agent contract with the Winnipeg Jets during the 1987 offseason. In 1987-88, he played most of the campaign with the Jets AHL affiliate, the Moncton Hawks.

Larose spent most of his three and a half seasons as a Jet with the Hawks (263 games, 112 goals, 94 assists), also making two short stops in Winnipeg (10 games, one assist, minus-2 rating, 14 PiM). He was traded to the New York Rangers near the end of the 1991-92 season, and further on to the Toronto Maple Leafs (53 games, 10 goals, seven assists, minus-13 rating, 45 PiM) near the beginning of the 1992-93 campaign.

The Maple Leafs would waive Larose on New Years Day, 1994, where the Flames picked him up. He scored 11 goals and 11 assists in just 15 games with the Saint Johns Flames, but in seven appearances with Calgary, he managed just one assist, a minus-3 rating and four penalty minutes.

Larose later played with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, and spent the next eight seasons between the IHL, the AHL, the ECHL, and in Germany.

All-Time Statline: Seven games, zero goals, one assist, minus-3 rating, four PiM, -0.19 point shares.

488. Jerry Byers

Byers was a 5’11”, 170 lb. left winger from Kentville Nova Scotia. Born on March 29th, 1952, he played three seasons with the OHA-Jr’s Kitchener Rangers starting in 1969-70, totaling 100 goals and 133 assists in 158 contests. The Minnesota North Stars made him their first round draft pick in the 1972 NHL Entry Draft, with the 12th overall selection.

1972-73 would see Byers play most of the season with Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the Jacksonville Barons (59 games, 20 goals, 17 assists, 12 PiM). In 14 games with the North Stars, he totaled two assists, a minus-2 rating and six penalty minutes. It was a pattern he repeated the following season with Minnesota's new AHL affiliate, the New Haven Nighthawks (62 games, 31 goals, 47 assists, 37 PiM). His 10 games with Minnesota yielded a minus-5 rating and 11 fruitless shots-on-goal. After the season, the North Stars traded him with Buster Harvey for John Flesch and Don Martineau.

The Omaha Knight's were the Flames' CHL farm team in 1974-75, and Byers scored 21 times with 31 assists in 58 contests for them. He scored his first career NHL goal for Atlanta, also tabbing an assist, a minus-4 rating, and nine PiM in 12 games for the club. The Flames traded him to the New York Rangers during training camp for Curt Ridley.

Byers lit the lamp twice for the Rangers in 1977-78, playing the last seven NHL games of his career. He also made one assist and a minus-1 rating.

Byers passed away on Christmas Day, 2006 at 54 years of age.

All-Time Statline: 12 games, one goal, one assist, minus-4 rating, nine PiM, -0.19 point shares.

487. Pierre Rioux

Rioux was a 5'9", 165 lb. right winger. Born on February 1st, 1962, the Quebec City, Quebec native played three complete seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes beginning in 1979-80. He totaled 136 goals and 190 assists in 192 career QMJHL games. The Flames signed him as a free agent during the 1982 offseason.

In 59 games as a rookie with the CHL's Colorado Flames, Rioux scored 26 times with 36 assists and 18 PiM. He also appeared in 14 contests for Calgary's version of the Flames, netting one goal with two helpers and a minus-3 rating. He spent four minutes in the penalty box. He spent the next season back in Colorado, lighting the lamp 37 times with 46 helpers and 22 PiM in 65 games.

Rioux would never again appear in the NHL. After a productive AHL season in 1984-85 (69 games, 25 goals, 66 assists) with the Moncton Golden Flames, he played the next 15 seasons in various levels of German professional hockey.

All-Time Statline: 14 games, one goal, two assists, minus-3 rating, four PiM, -0.19 point shares.

486. Dean Talafous

Talafous, a 6'4", 180 lb. right winger from Duluth, Minnesota, was born on August 25th, 1953. After two seasons playing with the University of Wisconsin (75 games, 28 goals, 55 assists), he was drafted by the then-Atlanta Flames in the fourth round of the 1973 NHL Entry Draft, with the 54th overall pick. He helped the Badgers win the National Championship, earning tournament MVP honors to close the 1973 season. He would spend another season with the Badgers (34 games, 17 goals, 29 assists) before turning professional.

Talafous played in just 11 CHL games (three goals, five assists) with the Omaha Knights before joining the Flames. He scored a goal and four assists in 18 games for the team, with a minus-7 rating and 13 PiM. On January 3rd, the Flames traded him with Dwight Bialowas to the Minnesota North Stars for Barry Gibbs (not of the Bee Gees).

Talafous spent four seasons with the North Stars (277 games, 61 goals, 90 assists), later also playing four seasons with the New York Rangers (202 games, 42 goals, 60 assists).

Talafous currently hosts a school where he teaches the fundamentals of hockey, including stick handling. (Click here for video).

All-Time Statline: 18 games, one goal, four assists, minus-7 rating, 13 PiM, -0.19 point shares.

Thanks for checking us out for today's Chapter. Keep coming back throughout the offseason for your Flames' fix.

by Kevin Kraczkowski