Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXXVI: 355-351

355. David Haas

Haas was a 6’2″, 200 lb. left winger from Toronto, Ontario. Born on June 23rd, 1968, he played in 62 OHL games with the London Knights in 1985-86, scoring four goals and 13 assists with 91 penalty minutes. The Edmonton Oilers chose him in the fifth round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft with the 105th overall pick.

After another OHL season, Haas made his first professional appearance with the Cape Breton Oilers in 1988-89. He would play most of five seasons with the AHL level club, scoring 64 goals with 107 assists and 845 penalty minutes in 263 games. During that time, he only once was called up to Edmonton, in 1990-91. He scored his only point with the club, a goal, in a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on November 8th. He signed with the Flames during the 1993 offseason.

The 1993-94 season would see Haas split the year between the Phoenix Roadrunners (11 games, seven goals, four assists 43 PiM), the Saint John Flames (37 games, 11 goals, 17 assists, 108 PiM), and Calgary. His first appearance for the club would result in a goal and a plus-3 rating on December 30th, as the Flames defeated the Oilers, 7-1. He tabbed an assist in the next game, a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues just three days later. It was also his last NHL appearance.

Following the 1994 offseason, Haas played with the Worcester IceCats (28 games, 11 goals, 10 assists, 88 PiM), the Detroit Vipers (one games, one assist), Courmasota HC (Italy, 22 games, 14 goals, 20 assists, 64 PiM), the Hannover Scorpions (Germany, 261 games, 93 goals, 113 assists, 590 PiM), and the Fresno Falcons (WCHL, 10 games, six goals, one assist, 34 PiM).

All-Time Statline: Two games, one goal, one assist, plus-2 rating, seven penalty minutes, 0.29 point shares.

354. Jonas Bergqvist

Bergqvist, a right winger, was born on September 26th, 1962. The 6', 185 lb. Hassleholm, Sweden native is known in the hockey world mostly for playing with Leksands IF, including parts of 15 seasons from 1981-82 through 1997-98. He played 503 games with the club, scoring 193 goals with 221 assists.

In 1988, the Flames gambled on Bergqvist with a sixth round pick in the NHL Entry Draft, with the 126th overall pick. In 1989-90, he took Calgary up on their offer, joining the organization for one year. As a part of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, he averaged over a point per game, scoring six goals and 10 assists in 13 appearances. He made 22 starts at the NHL level with Calgary. On October 21st he scored his first NHL point, an assist in a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins. In Calgary’s next game, he scored his first goal in a 3-3 tie versus the Washington Capitals. He had his first multi-point game on December 30th in a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens, earning two assists.

Bergqvist rejoined Leksands after the season, never again to try his hand at the North American version of the game. He last suited up with Feldkirch VEU in the Austrian League in 1998-99, scoring 22 goals and 26 assists in 46 games.

All-Time Statline: 22 games, two goals, five assists, plus-10 rating, 10 penalty minutes, 0.29 point shares.

353. Norm Gratton

Gratton was a 5’11”, 165 lb. left winger from LaSalle, Quebec. Born on December 22nd, 1950, he played two seasons of Junior Hockey with the OHA’s Montreal Junior Canadiens (107 games, 42 goals, 64 assists, 102 PiM). The New York Rangers chose him in the first round of the 1970 NHL Entry Draft with the 11th overall pick.

1970-71 would see Gratton spend his season with the CHL's Omaha Knights, scoring 19 times with 31 helpers in 70 contests. The following season would see him spend most of the year with Omaha (68 games, 32 goals, 42 assists, 82 PiM), also making his NHL debut in three games with the Rangers, where he totaled one assist.

On June 6th, 1972, Gratton was left unprotected by the Rangers in the NHL’s Expansion Draft, where the Atlanta Flames claimed him with the eighth pick. He played 11 games for Omaha, and scored five goals and eight assists. He played 29 games with Atlanta, scoring three times on 26 shots, along with six assists, a plus-1 rating, and 12 penalty minutes. On Valentine’s Day, the Flames traded him to the Buffalo Sabres for Butch Deadmarsh.

After Gratton’s time with the Sabres (103 games, 15 goals, 23 assists, 30 PiM), he also played with the Minnesota North Stars (66 games, 21 goals, 15 assists, 22 PiM), the AHL’s New Haven Knighthawks (29 games, seven goals, seven assists) and the NAHL’s Maine Nordiques (52 games, 15 goals, 26 assists).

All-Time Statline: 29 games, three goals, six assists, plus-1 rating, 12 penalty minutes, 0.29 point shares.

352. Ted Drury

Drury was a 6'2", 210 lb. center from Boston, Massachusetts. Born on September 13th, 1971, he was selected out of high school in the second round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by Calgary, 42nd overall. He joined Harvard University soon afterward, and played with the team for three of the next four seasons (74 games, 49 goals, 72 assists), graduating with the Class of 1993. He played with the US National Team through his junior year, scoring 11 goals and 23 assists in 53 games.

Drury spent the first 11 weeks of the 1993-94 season with the Flames. He scored his first two NHL goals on October 25th, in a win over the Washington Capitals, 3-2. After a little while longer with the US National Team (11 games, one goal, four assists), he rejoined the Flames on March 5th. He played a total of 34 games for Calgary, scoring five times on 43 shots with seven assists, a minus-5 rating, and 26 penalty minutes. On March 10th, the Flames traded him with Gary Suter and Paul Ranheim to the Hartford Whalers for James Patrick, Zarley Zalapski, and Michael Nylander.

Drury finished out the season and one more with the Whalers (50 games, four goals, 11 assists). He later played with the Ottawa Senators (42 games, nine goals, seven assists), the Anaheim Ducks (232 games, 21 goals, 26 assists), the New York Islanders (55 games, two goals, one assist) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (one game, minus-3 rating). He followed his NHL career with five seasons in Germany, between the Hamburg Freezers (52 games, 16 goals, 22 assists), the Kassel Huskies (103 games 26 goals, 31 assists) and the Krefeld Pinguine (97 games, 30 goals, 46 assists).

All-Time Statline: 34 games, five goals, seven assists, minus-5 rating, 26 penalty minutes, 0.29 point shares.

351. Ed Ward

Ward was a 6'3", 190 lb. right winger from Edmonton, Alberta. Born on November 10th, 1969, he played collegiate hockey with Northern Michigan University. In four seasons with the Wildcats, he scored 23 times with 46 helpers and 262 penalty minutes in 152 appearances, graduated with the Class of 1991. The Quebec Nordiques drafted him after his freshman season in the sixth round, 108th overall.

Ward spent most of his first two professional seasons with the AHL Halifax Citadels (121 games, 20 goals, 30 assists, 121 PiM). After scoring a goal for the Nordiques in seven NHL appearances in 1993-94, he played 56 games with the Cornwall Aces the following season (10 goals, 24 assists, 118 PiM). On March 23rd, 1995, Quebec traded him to the Flames for Francois Groleau.

Ward played in two NHL games for Calgary that season, scoring an assist in a 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on April 30th and a goal in a 5-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on May 3rd. In 1995-96, he appeared for the Flames 41 times, scoring three times on 33 shots with five assists and 44 penalty minutes. On December 1st, he scored a goal and an assist in an 8-2 win over the Oilers, then two nights later, he tabbed two assists as the Flames dropped a 5-2 decision to the Winnipeg Jets.

1996-97 would see Ward light the lamp five times on 33 shots with eight assists and 49 penalty minutes. On February 7th, he scored the game winner in a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals.

In 1997-98, Ward was one of eight Flames to accrue over 100 penalty minutes, ranking fifth on the club with 122 over 64 games. He would also score four times on 52 shots with five assists and a minus-1 rating. The following season would see him appear in a career high 68 games, scoring three goals on 56 shots, averaging eight minutes per game. He added five assists, a minus-4 rating, and 67 penalty minutes. During the 1999 offseason, the Atlanta Thrashers claimed him in the NHL's Expansion Draft.

After part of a season with Atlanta (44 games, five goals, one assist, 44 PiM), he played with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (eight games, one goal, 15 PiM) and the New Jersey Devils (four games, one assist, six PiM).

All-Time Statline: 215 games, 16 goals, 24 assists, minus-12 rating, 284 penalty minutes, 0.30 point shares.

by Kevin Kraczkowski