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Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXII: 425-421

A review of the career on-ice contributions of Danny Bolduc, Carter Bancks, Peter Ahola, John Negrin, and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond.

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425. Danny Bolduc

Bolduc was a 5'9", 190 lb. left winger from Waterville, Maine. Born on April 6th, 1953, he played two seasons with Harvard University before turning pro with the New England Whalers (then part of the WHA) in 1975-76. He scored two goals and five assists in 14 contests with the club. He also appeared in 60 games that year with the US Olympic Team, scoring 41 times and assisting on 31 others. The US finished fifth in the 12 team tournament. He also played in 16 postseason contests with the Whalers as the team parlayed a losing season into a deep playoff run, falling just short of the Avco Cup Finals.

In 1976-77, Bolduc spent his season split between the AHL's Rhode Island Reds (44 games, 11 goals, 22 assists) and the Whalers (33 games, eight goals, three assists). The following season would see him play 41 contests in New England (five goals, five assists) and 35 with the AHL Springfield Indians (14 goals, nine assists).

1978-79 would represent Bolduc’s most accomplished season as a professional. He tabbed career highs in his “official” rookie NHL season, scoring 16 goals and 13 assists with the Detroit Red Wings over 56 games. He also scored nearly a goal per game in the CHL with the Kansas City Red Wings (23 games, 21 goals, 11 assists).

The next few seasons would see Bolduc spend parts of two seasons with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings (90 games, 24 goals, 28 assists), also appearing with Detroit (44 games, six goals, five assists), the Nova Scotia Voyageurs (74 games, 39 goals, 40 assists) and the Colorado Flames (79 games, 27 goals, 45 assists).

In 1983-84, Bolduc remained with Colorado for most of the season (60 games, 37 goals, 17 assists), also playing in two contests with Calgary. He tabbed one assist in his time there, and also played in one playoff game for the NHL's Flames. He retired after another season in the Flames minor league organization, with the Moncton Golden Flames (45 games, seven goals, eight assists).

All-Time Statline: Two games, zero goals, one assist, plus-1 rating, zero penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

424. Carter Bancks

Bancks is a 5’11”, 180 lb. left winger from Marysville, British Columbia. Born on August 9th, 1989, he played five seasons with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes (262 games, 58 goals, 120 assists). In 2009-10, he played in nine games with the Abbotsford Heat, appearing 13 more times through the postseason.

Over the next two seasons with the Heat, Bancks appeared in 84 contests, scoring seven goals with 22 helpers and a plus-7 rating. Most of 2012-13 would play out the same, as he played 59 games with the club, scoring five goals with seven assists. At the end of April, the Flames gave him a look at the NHL level. On the 23rd, he played 12 and a half minutes in a 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators. Three days later, he played nearly 17 minutes in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

After seemingly playing well enough to earn more playing time with Calgary, Bancks was not called to the parent club through 2013-14, instead spending the entire season with the Heat (72 games, three goals, eight assists). Bancks was with the Heat through all five seasons of their existence, and may be the only player to be able to make such a claim.

All-Time Statline: Two games, zero goals, zero assists, even rating, zero penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

423. Peter Ahola

Ahola, a 6'3", 205 lb. defenseman and water skier from Espoo, Finland, was born on May 14th, 1968. After spending several seasons in the Finnish Juniors system, he played two seasons of US Collegiate Hockey with the Boston University Terriers (82 games, 15 goals, 44 assists).

1991-92 would see Ahola sign a free agent NHL contract with the Los Angeles Kings, with whom he played 71 games as a rookie. He scored seven goals with 12 assists, a plus-12 rating and 101 penalty minutes.

1992-93 would be a busy time for a soon-to-be well traveled Ahola. He played eight games with the Kings (one goal, one assist), 22 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins (one assist, 14 penalty minutes), nine games with the Cleveland Lumberjacks in the IHL (one goal), and 20 contests with the San Jose Sharks (two goals, three assists 16 penalty minutes. During the offseason, he was traded twice more, to the Tampa Bay Lightning, then to Calgary for cash considerations. All told, he was traded four times in 11 months.

Ahola played in 66 games for the Saint John Flames in 1993-94, scoring nine goals with 19 assists. On December 17th, he was called up to join Calgary. His first game would see the Flames lose, 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues, and his second would see him take one shot on goal in another loss, 5-4 to the Winnipeg Jets. It would be his final NHL appearance.

Ahola went on to play with Kiekko-Espoo (50 games, 12 goals, 21 assists), HIFK Helsinki (84 games, 15 goals, 19 assists), TPS Turku (93 games, 18 goals, 38 assists), and the Blues (101 games, 20 goals, 37 assists), all Swedish Elite teams. He then played two seasons with Sodertalje SK (96 games, 10 goals, 18 assists).

All-Time Statline: Two games, zero goals, zero assists, even rating, zero penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

422. John Negrin

Negrin is a 6’2″, 202 lb. defenseman. Born on March 25th, 1989, the Vancouver, British Columbia native was a three season Kootenay Ice veteran (101 games, four goals, 22 assists, 105 PiM) when selected in the third round of the 2007 NHL Draft by Calgary, with the 70th overall pick.

Negrin stayed in the WHL with Kootenay, and later the Swift Current Broncos for most of the next two campaigns (134 games, nine goals, 82 assists, 117 PiM). In April, he was called up by Calgary for a late season look. His first game, on the 3rd, he earned a two minute minor for holding in four minutes of time on ice in a 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild. He earned his only career NHL point in the third period of a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on April 11th, on a Jamie Lundmark goal.

Negrin played in Calgary's organization for the next two and a half seasons with the Abbotsford Heat (95 games, five goals, 17 assists). Since the middle of the 2011-12 season, he has played with the Utah Grizzlies (nine games, one goal, five assists), the St. John's IceCaps (14 games, three assists), the Kalamazoo Wings (44 games, two goals, seven assists), the Chicago Wolves (one game, one assist), and the Lake Erie/Utica Comets (33 games, two goals, three assists).

All-Time Statline: Three games, zero goals, one assist, minus-2 rating, two penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

421. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

Leblond, also known as PL3, is a 6’2″, 210 lb. right winger from Levis, Quebec. Born on June 4th, 1985, he played with Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL in 2003-04, earning 198 penalty minutes in 62 games, along with a pair of goals and three assists. The New Jersey Devils selected him in the seventh round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, with the 216th overall pick.

2004-05 would see Leblond remain with Baie-Comeau and spend 227 minutes in the penalty box over 67 contests, also scoring a goal with six assists.

Leblond played the next six seasons at various levels of the Devils organization, with the Albany River Rats (27 games, one goal, one assist, 130 PiM), the Trenton Titans/Devils (58 games, four goals, 10 assists, 229 PiM), the Lowell Devils (101 games, eight goals, 10 assists, 332 PiM), the Albany Devils (64 games, eight goals, five assists, 334 PiM), and the New Jersey Devils (37 games, three assists, 91 PiM). During the 2011 offseason, the Devils sent him to the Flames for a fifth round draft choice (Graham Black).

2011-12 would see Leblond play 50 games with the Abbotsford Heat, scoring a goal with five assists and 167 penalty minutes. Over three games in October and November with Calgary, he played just under five minutes per appearance and a 10 minute major misconduct penalty in a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on October 18th. His opponent was Ben Eager.

Since then, Leblond has played with the Norfolk Admirals (33 games, three goals, five assists, 98 PiM), the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Penguins (66 games, two goals, four assists, 259 PiM), and one game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is signed with Pittsburgh through next season.

All-Time Statline: Three games, zero goals, zero assists, plus-1 rating, 10 penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

Thanks for reading today's Flames look back. Tune in to M&G for all your Flames news as we approach the draft, free agency, the rest of this list, and next season, which can't come soon enough.

by Kevin Kraczkowski