Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XVII: 450-446

450. Jukka Hentunen

Hentunen was a 5’10”, 194 lb. right winger from Joroinen, Finland. Born on May 3rd, 1974, he played two seasons with HPK Hameenlinna in Finland before getting drafted scoring 30 goals with 49 assists in 94 games. The Flames selected him in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 176th overall. The following season would see him score 27 goals with 28 assists in 56 games for Jokerit Helsinki.

In 2001-02, Hentunen jumped the pond to try out the North American game. He played nine games in the AHL with the Saint John Flames, scoring three goals and three assists. On October 18th, he scored his first NHL goal in a 3-1 Calgary win over the Florida Panthers. In total, he scored two goals on 38 shots for the Flames, adding three assists, a minus-9 rating, and four penalty minutes in just over 11 minutes per game. On March 17th, the Flames traded him to the Nashville Predators for “future considerations.”

After scoring two goals and two assists in 10 games with the Predators, Hentunen rejoined Jokerit for the 2003-04 campaign. He later played Fribourg-Gotteron and Lugano in the top Swiss league, Kazan Ak-Bars in the KHL, and KalPa Kuopio in Finland, most recently in 2012-13.

All-Time Statline: 28 games, two goals, three assists, minus-9 rating, four penalty minutes, -0.10 point shares.

449. Darryl Olsen

Olsen was a 6', 180 lb. defenseman from Calgary, Alberta. Born on October 7th, 1966, he was selected by the Flames in the ninth round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft with the 185th overall pick.

After his selection, Olsen played four seasons of collegiate hockey with Northern Michigan University. He played 154 games with the Wildcats, scoring 37 times with 86 assists.

Beginning in 1989-90, Olsen played two complete seasons with the Flames AHL affiliate, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, scoring 31 goals and 90 assists in 148 contests. He lit the lamp seven times with 33 helpers for the Golden Eagles in 1991-92. On December 14th, he played in his only NHL contest, taking three shots on goal and posting a minus-2 rating in a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Olsen signed a free agent contract with the Boston Bruins during the 1992 offseason. After 50 games with the Providence Bruins (seven goals, 27 assists), he appeared with the San Diego Gulls (21 games, two goals, eight assists), the Golden Eagles (73 games, 17 goals, 32 assists), HC Gardena (39 games, 10 goals, 19 assists), the Houston Aeros (four games, one assist), EC Villacher SV (10 games, one goal, two assists), EC VSV Villach (23 games, nine games, 19 assists), the Nottingham Panthers (50 games, 13 goals, 35 assists), the Phoenix Mustangs (11 games, three assists), EC Bad Nauheim (19 games, three goals, five assists), the Amarillo Rattlers (10 games, one goal, one assist), and the Corpus Christi Ice Rays (34 games, nine goals, 23 assists).

All-Time Statline: One game, zero goals, zero assists, minus-2 rating, zero penalty minutes, -0.09 point shares.

448. Tim Harrer

Harrer was a 6', 185 lb. right winger from Bloomington, Minnesota. Born on May 10th, 1957, he was selected by the Atlanta Flames in the ninth round of the 1977 NHL Entry Draft, 148th overall after his freshman season with the University of Minnesota (38 games, 14 goals, nine assists).

Harrer played three more seasons with the Golden Gophers (119 games, 103 goals, 75 assists). After graduating with the Class of 1980, he split the season between the CHL's Birmingham Bulls (28 games, nine goals, five assists) and the AHL's Hershey Bears (39 games, seven goals, six assists).

In 1981-82, Harrer scored 29 goals and 27 assists in 77 games with the CHL’s Oklahoma City Stars. The following season was spent mostly with the Colorado Flames (69 games, 33 goals, 29 assists). He posted an even rating and took three shots on goal with two penalty minutes in three games with Calgary.

Harrer signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1983 offseason. He later appeared with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (66 games, 42 goals, 27 assists), the Toledo Golddiggers (28 games, six goals, 10 assists), and the Nova Scotia Oilers (seven games).

All-Time Statline: Three games, zero goals, zero assists, even rating, two penalty minutes, -0.09 point shares.

447. Barry Nieckar

Nieckar, a Rama, Saskatchewan native, was born on December 16th, 1967. A 6'3", 205 lb. left winger, he was signed to a free agent contract by the Hartford Whalers prior to the 1992-93 season.

Nieckar played 21 games with the Springfield Indians that season (two goals, four assists). He had his first taste of NHL action near the end of the season, in two appearances with Hartford.

1993-94 would see Nieckar split his season between the Indians (30 games, two assists) and the Raleigh Ice Caps (18 games, four goals six assists). After playing most of 1994-95 on an AHL contract with the Saint John Flames (65 games, eight goals, seven assists, 491 penalty minutes), he inked an NHL deal with Calgary. He played in three contests with the club in February. He failed to score, or even take a shot on goal, finishing with an even rating and 12 penalty minutes.

Later, Nieckar appeared with the Utah Grizzlies (53 games, nine goals, 15 assists), the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (three games, seven penalty minutes), the Long Beach Ice Dogs (63 games, three goals, 10 assists, 386 penalty minutes), the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (75 games, 10 goals, 14 assists, 295 penalty minutes), the Springfield Falcons (67 games, 11 goals, six assists, 270 penalty minutes), the London Knights (18 games, two assists, 143 penalty minutes), and the Nottingham Panthers (106 games, 11 goals, 20 assists, 625 penalty minutes).

All-Time Statline: Three games, zero goals, zero assists, even rating, 12 penalty minutes, -0.09 point shares.

446. Neil Eisenhut

Eisenhut, a 6’1″, 195 lb. center, was born on February 9th, 1967. A native of Osoyoos, British Columbia, the Vancouver Canucks selected him in the 12th round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft with the 233rd overall pick.

After his selection, Eisenhut began his collegiate playing career with the University of North Dakota. He played four seasons with the Fighting Sioux, scoring 65 times and assisting on 83 others in 148 contests before graduating with the Class of 1991.

Eisenhut would play with the Milwaukee Admirals (76 games, 13 goals, 23 assists) and the Hamilton Canucks (132 games, 39 goals, 76 helpers) on his way to Vancouver. 1993-94 would see him appear 13 times with the parent club, scoring a goal with three assists. He signed on as a free agent with Calgary after the end of the season.

In 1994-95, Eisenhut spent most of his season with the Saint John Flames, scoring 16 goals and 39 assists in 75 contests. He was briefly called up by Calgary in February, and went scoreless in three contests, posting an even rating and taking two shots on goal.

After two more seasons bouncing around the North American minor leagues, Eisenhut caught on with the Deutsch Elite League with the Krefeld Penguins (200 games, 49 goals, 81 assists). He retired after two more seasons in the league with the DEG Metro Stars (100 games, 17 goals, 32 assists).

All-Time Statline: Three games, zero goals, zero assists, even rating, zero penalty minutes, -0.09 point shares

by Kevin Kraczkowski