Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XVI: 455-451

455. Mike Dwyer

Dwyer was a 5’11”, 172 lb. left winger from Brampton, Ontario. Born on September 16th, 1957, he played two seasons of Junior hockey in the OMJHL between the Windsor Spitfires (47 games, 25 goals, 29 assists) and the Niagra Falls Flyers (59 games, 30 goals, 38 assists). Following the 1976-77 campaign, he was drafted in both the WHA and the NHL drafts. The WHA’s Houston Aeros selected him 82nd overall, in the ninth round, and the Colorado Rockies (New Jersey Devils) picked him in the fifth round, 74th overall.

In 1977-78, Dwyer split his season between the CHL's Phoenix Roadrunners (25 games, 12 goals, eight assists) and the AHL's Hampton Gulls (nine games, two goals, one assist). The following season was spent mostly with the Philadelphia Firebirds (60 games, 20 goals, 27 assists). He also made his first NHL appearance, with the Rockies. He played in 12 contests, scoring two goals with three assists.

1979-80 would see Dwyer play his season between three clubs. He played with the CHL’s Fort Worth Texans (13 games, three goals, four assists) and Birmingham Bulls (40 games, 16 goals, 18 assists, 90 PiM), and the Rockies (10 games, 19 PiM). He signed with the newly relocated Calgary Flames prior to the 1980-81 season.

As a new Flame, Dwyer averaged just over a point per game with the Birmingham Bulls (49 games, 16 goals, 34 assists). In his Calgary appearances, he totaled an assist and four penalty minutes in four games, adding a goal in one playoff game. He later played 12 regular season games with the Wichita Wind in the AHL, scoring eight goals and eight assists in 12 games. He also made significant contributions through the postseason with the team (15 games, six goals, 11 assists) before they lost the championship to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles.

In 1981-82, Dwyer scored nine goals with 21 assists in 28 games with the Oklahoma City Stars. In his last NHL action, he played five games for the Flames, tabbing two assists. He closed out his playing career with the Colorado Flames the following season, making 15 goals with 33 assists in 51 games.

All-Time Statline: Nine games, zero goals, zero assists, minus-1 rating, four penalty minutes, -0.10 point shares.

454. Niklas Andersson

Andersson, born May 20th, 1971, was a 5'9", 176 lb. left winger from Kungalv, Sweden. The Quebec Nordiques chose him in the fourth round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft with the 68th overall pick.

Andersson played 133 games with the AHL's Halifax Citadels, scoring 40 goals with 76 assists over two seasons. In 1992-93, he played his first three NHL games with Quebec, making one assist.

1993-94 would see Andersson spend the entire season with the AHL's Cornwall Aces (42 games, 18 goals, 34 assists). He played for the IHL's Denver Grizzlies the following season, scoring 22 times with 39 helpers.

Andersson joined the New York Islanders in 1995-96. In parts of three seasons with the club he totaled 138 games, 29 goals and 50 assists. He also appeared with the Nashville Predators (seven games, one assist) and the San Jose Sharks (five games). He joined Calgary as a free agent during the 2000 offseason. He had 33 goals and 39 assists in 66 games for the Chicago Wolves that year, also making 11 starts for the Flames. He scored his only point for Calgary on October 14th, an assist in a 2-0 victory over the Islanders.

Andersson went on to play 10 seasons with Frolunda back in Sweden. Including his pre-NHL time, he totaled 184 goals and 312 assists in 565 contests. He retired following the 2010-11 season.

All-Time Statline: 11 games, zero goals, one assist, even rating, four penalty minutes, -0.10 point shares.

453. Lynn Loyns

Loyns was a 5'11", 205 lb. left winger from Naicam, Saskatchewan. Born on February 22nd, 1981, he played four seasons with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs before getting signed professionally. He played in 258 games and lit the lamp 72 times with 113 helpers. The San Jose Sharks signed him prior to the 2001 season.

The next two seasons were spent mostly in the AHL with the Cleveland Barons. Loyns totaled 16 goals and 17 assists in 112 games. He also got his first look at the NHL level with San Jose, scoring three goals in 19 games in 2002-03.

2003-04 would see Loyns start out the season with the Barons (30 games, five goals, nine assists). He also made two starts with the Sharks in October. On January 9th, the Sharks sent Loyns to the Flames for a fifth round pick (Bret Nasby).

Loyns had six goals and six assists in 18 games for the Lowell Lock Monsters. He played in 12 games for the Flames that season, 10 of them in January. He earned an assist in his first game, a 4-2 Flames win over the Florida Panthers. He also tabbed an assist in the Flames next matchup, a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, that was the only damage he did on the scorecard. He finished with a minus-2 rating and two penalty minutes in just over 11 minutes per game.

Loyns played 77 games with the Monsters in 2004-05 (seven goals, eight assists). When the NHL resumed in 2005-06, he scored nine goals with eight assists in 68 contests with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. He was called up for one more NHL game with Calgary, on April 5th in a 5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

For the next four seasons ending with 2009-10, Loyns played with Krefeld Pinguine in Germany, scoring 47 goals and 49 assists in 172 games.

All-Time Statline: 13 games, zero goals, two assists, minus-2 rating, two penalty minutes, -0.10 point shares.

452. Brett Sutter

Sutter was a 6', 200 lb. center from Viking, Alberta. Born on June 2nd, 1987, he played four WHL seasons between the Kootenay Ice and the Red Deer Rebels, totaling 58 goals and 80 assists in 254 contests. The Flames selected him in the sixth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft with the 179th overall pick.

Sutter is, of course, of unparalleled NHL pedigree. His father, Darryl, as well as uncles Brent, Brian, Duane, Rich, and Ron and his cousin Brandon have all played in the NHL.

In 2007-08, Sutter played in 75 games for the Quad City Flames, scoring four times with six assists. 2008-09 would see his output increase to 10 goals and 15 helpers in 71 games. He also made his first appearance for Calgary. He scored a goal in his first game, a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks. In total, he played four contests, taking six shots on goal and playing around eight minutes per game.

2009-10 would see Sutter score nine times with 15 assists for the Abbotsford Heat in 66 games. He rejoined Calgary for the last 10 games of the campaign, going scoreless with a minus-1 rating, five penalty minutes, and nine shots on goal in just under 10 minutes per game.

Sutter started 2010-11 with the Flames, He registered one assist (on October 10th in a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings) in four games, with a minus-1 rating, five penalty minutes, and three shots on goal in 10 minutes per game. The Flames traded him with Ian White to the Carolina Hurricanes for Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos.

Sutter has played most of the time since then with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL (193 games, 41 goals, 57 assists). He has also appeared in 36 games with the Hurricanes, totaling a goal and four assists.

All-Time Statline: 18 games, one goal, one assist, minus-4 rating, 12 penalty minutes, -0.10 point shares.

451. Brendan Mikkelson

Mikkelson was a 6'3", 205 lb. defenseman from Regina, Saskatchewan. Born on June 22nd, 1987, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks plucked him out of juniors in the NHL Entry Draft of 2005, in the 2nd round, 31st overall.

Starting with the 2003-04 season, Mikkelson played four seasons in the WHL between the Portland Winter Hawks and the Vancouver Giants, totaling 16 goals and 54 helpers in 226 games. He made his first professional appearance in the AHL with the Portland Pirates (66 games, six goals, 10 assists) in 2007-08.

In 2008-09, Mikkelson played in his first of three partial seasons in Anaheim with the Ducks. He totaled five assists and a minus-6 rating in 67 games while in Anaheim. After the Ducks waived him on October 19th, 2010, where the Flames picked him up.

Mikkelson scored his only point for the Flames on October 30th, an assist in a 7-2 Flames loss to the Washington Capitals. He played just under 13 minutes per night for Calgary, posting a minus-5 rating and taking nine shots on goal. He wouldn’t appear for the Flames again.

After spending most of the intervening time with the Abbotsford Heat, the Flames traded Mikkelson to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Blair Jones on January 6th, 2012. He has a goal and three assists in 45 contests with the Bolts.

All-Time Statline: 19 games, zero goals, one assist, minus-5 rating, two penalty minutes, -0.10 point shares.

by Kevin Kraczkowski