Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXVI: 405-401

405. Gerry O'Flaherty

O’Flaherty was a 5’9″, 175 lb. right winger from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born on August 31st, 1950, he played two seasons with the OHA’s Kitchener Rangers beginning in 1968-69, scoring 44 goals with 41 assists in 76 games. He was a third round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 36th overall in the 1970 NHL Entry Draft.

O’Flaherty played in the CHL in 1970-71 with the Tulsa Oilers, appearing in 70 contests and scoring 23 times with 29 helpers. He spent most of the next year in Tulsa also, scoring 22 goals with 30 assists in 57 games, and adding six goals and nine assists in 13 playoff games. He also played his first two NHL games with the Leafs.

O’Flaherty was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in an Intra-League draft during the 1972 offseason. The move agreed with him, and he played in 435 games with the Canucks over the next six seasons. He had three straight 20-goal seasons with Vancouver, totaling 98 goals and 95 assists while with the club.

During the 1978 offseason, the Canucks traded O’Flaherty to the Atlanta Flames for cash, and I’m not sure how much. He split most of the 1978-79 season between Tulsa (38 games, 18 goals, 24 assists) and the AHL’s Nova Scotia Voyageurs (35 games, eight goals, 14 assists). He also made a single appearance with the Flames, scoring an even strength goal on two shots and posting a plus-1 rating.

All-Time Statline: One game, one goal, zero assists, even rating, two penalty minutes, 0.09 point shares.

404. Cam Botting

Botting was a 6’2″, 205 lb. right winger from Kingston, Ontario. Born on March 10th, 1954, he played two seasons in the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Niagra Falls Flyers starting in 1972-73, scoring a combined 70 goals with 79 assists and 323 penalty minutes in 96 contests. The Atlanta Flames selected him in the fourth round of the 1974 NHL Entry Draft with the 64th overall pick.

In 1974-75, Botting played 15 games in the CHL with the Omaha Knights, scoring twice with three helpers. He spent most of the season at the IHL level, playing 49 games with the Des Moines Capitals, scoring eight goals with five assists. He played in 73 AHL games with the Tulsa Oilers the next season, lighting the lamp 22 times with 29 assists. In a mid-season call up to the Flames, he played in two games, making an assist and posting a plus-1 rating.

Botting played 150 games for the Tulsa Oilers over the next two seasons, producing 43 goals and 49 assists. He was out of organized hockey for the next five seasons. In 1982-83, he returned to play 12 games with the IHL's Flint Generals (two goals, four assists) and 49 games with the Erie Golden Blades (nine goals, 27 assists). He retired for good after 13 games with Erie the next season (two goals, two assists).

All-Time Statline: Two games, zero goals, one assist, plus-1 rating, zero penalty minutes, 0.09 point shares.

403. Howard Walker

Walker was a 6'2", 205 lb. defenseman from Grande Prairie, Alberta. Born on August 5th, 1958, he played two seasons at the college level with the University of North Dakota (77 games, 14 goals, 34 assists). Prior to the 1980-81 season, he signed a free agent contract with the Washington Capitals.

Walker spent two seasons in the Capitals organization, splitting his time between the Caps (80 games, two goals, 13 assists, 126 PiM) and the Hershey Bears (61 games, four goals, four assists, 86 PiM). During the 1982 offseason, Washington traded him with George White, a sixth round draft choice (Mats Kihlstrom) a third round draft choice (Perry Berezan) and a second round pick (Paul Ranheim) for Patt Riggin and Ken Houston.

Walker played most of the 1982-83 season with Calgary's CHL affiliate, the Colorado Flames (69 games, four goals, 19 assists, 172 PiM). He took two shots on goal for Calgary, earning seven penalty minutes over three appearances. He retired after the season at the age of 25.

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

402. Mark Greig

Greig first surfaced in the WHL as a three season veteran of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, scoring 100 goals and 170 assists in 201 games. A 5’11”, 190 lb. right winger, the High River, Alberta native was born on January 25th, 1970. After his time in Juniors, the Hartford Whalers chose him in the first round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft with the 15th overall pick.

The next four seasons would see Greig play with the Springfield Indians (182 games, 72 goals, 124 assists, 218 PiM), the Whalers (74 games, five goals, 17 assists, 64 PiM), the St. John's Maple Leafs (nine games, four goals, six assists) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (13 games, two goals, two assists). Calgary signed him as a free agent during the 1994 offseason.

While with Calgary’s organization, Greig had 31 goals and 50 assists in 67 games with the Saint John Flames. He joined Calgary for eight games starting in late January, 1995. On February 9th, he earned his first point with the Flames, an assist in a 5-1 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In Calgary’s next game, he scored his only goal with the team in a 6-0 win over the Dallas Stars.

After his time with the Flames, Greig played for the Atlanta Knights (IHL, 71 games, 25 goals, 48 assists, 104 PiM), the Quebec Rafales (IHL, five games, one goal, two assists), Houston Aeros (IHL, 59 games, 12 goals, 30 assists, 59 PiM), the Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL, 69 games, 26 goals, 36 assists, 103 assists), the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL, 30 games, five goals, seven assists), the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL, 348 games, 140 goals, 232 assists, 548 PiM), the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, 52 games, 14 goals, 23 assists), the Kassel Huskies (52 games, 17 goals, 19 assists), and the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, 86 games, 34 goals, 38 assists). He is currently a scout with the Flyers organization.

All-Time Statline: Eight games, one goal, one assist, plus-1 rating, two penalty minutes, 0.09 point shares.

401. Erik Andersson

Andersson was a 6'3", 210 lb. center from Stockholm, Sweden. Born on August 19th, 1971, he was first selected in the sixth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, 112th overall. He elected not to sign, and two years later began playing at the college level with the University of Denver. He played four seasons with the Pioneers, scoring 49 goals and 91 assists in 158 games, also spending 166 minutes in the penalty box.

After graduating with the Class of 1997, the Flames selected Andersson in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft with the 70th overall pick. He would score five goals and nine assists in 29 games for the Flames AHL team in Saint John. On January 20th, he scored his first NHL goal in a 4-3 loss to the Kings. Nine days later, he scored his second and final NHL goal, also against the Kings, but this time in a 5-3 loss. He also added an assist and eight penalty minutes over his 12 appearances with the club.

Andersson was traded with Marty McInnis and Jamie Allison to the Chicago Blackhawks for Jeff Shantz and Steve Dubinsky as the 1998-99 season began. After 48 minor league appearances with the Indianapolis Ice (five goals, seven assists), he headed back to Sweden to play for AIK (77 games, 11 goals, 12 assists).

All-Time Statline: 12 games, two goals, one assist, minus-4 rating, eight penalty minutes, 0.09 point shares.

Thank you for continuing to read on as we climb up the ladder rung-by-rung to the top. Can you guess who's in the top 20?

by Kevin Kraczkowski