Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXIII: 420-416

420. Serge Beaudoin

Beaudoin, aside from being the only player in Flames history with each of the five vowels in his last name, was also a 6’2″, 215 lb. defenseman from Montreal, Quebec. The big D-man was drafted in the seventh round of the 1972 NHL Entry Draft with the 103rd overall pick after completing three seasons in Juniors.

Beaudoin, born on October 30th, 1952, spent his first season and a half with the Roanoke Valley Rebels (113 games, 18 goals, 63 assists, 400 PiM) in the Vancouver Blazers minor league feeder system. He also tabbed a goal and 11 assists in 26 games with the Blazers when called on late in the 1973-74 season.

1974-75 would see Beaudoin spend the balance of his season with the CHL’s Tulsa Oilers (37 games, six goals, 31 assists, 139 PiM), also spending four games with the Blazers. For the next four seasons, he bounced around several WHA franchises, including the Phoenix Roadrunners (153 games, six goals, 45 assists, 238 PiM), the Cincinnati Stingers (13 games, one assist, 10 PiM), and the Birmingham Bulls (136 games, 13 goals, 46 assists, 232 PiM).

During the 1979 offseason, Beaudoin signed a contract to play for the still-Atlanta Flames. He instead spent most of his season with the new Birmingham Bulls, who simply changed leagues when the WHA folded. He played in 76 games that year for the Bulls, scoring six times with 26 assists and 135 penalty minutes. He also played in three NHL games for Atlanta, registering no points, taking one shot on goal, and finishing his brief NHL career with a minus-1 rating.

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

419. Mike Mottau

Mottau is a 6′, 193 lb. defenseman. Born in Quincy, Massachusetts on March 19th, 1978, he played four seasons of collegiate hockey with Boston College. In 163 contests for the Eagles, he scored 27 times with 130 helpers. After his freshman season, the New York Rangers selected him in the seventh round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with the 182nd overall pick.

Mottau graduated with the Class of 2000, and joined the Rangers system. He split his rookie season between New York (18 games, three assists, 13 PiM) and the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack (61 games, 10 goals, 33 assists, 45 PiM). The following season would see him play in 80 games for the Wolfpack (nine goals, 42 assists, 56 PiM) with only one appearance with the Blueshirts. After 29 games with the Wolfpack in 2002-03 (one goal, 18 assists, 24 PiM), the Rangers traded him to Calgary for a sixth round pick (Ivan Dornic) and “future considerations.”

Upon joining the Flames on January 22, 2003, Mottau reported to Calgary for four contests. The team went 1-2-1 with him in the lineup for just under 10 minutes per game. He didn't take any shots on goal, and finished at a somewhat respectable minus-1 rating. He finished out the season with the Saint John Flames (32 games, five goals, 12 assists).

Mottau spent the entirety of the next four seasons in the AHL, playing one season each with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (69 games, nine goals, 22 assists, 79 PiM), the Worcester IceCats (73 games, four goals, 31 assists, 23 PiM), the Peoria Rivermen (76 games, eight goals, 48 assists, 81 PiM), and the Lowell Devils (43 games, one goal, 26 assists, 33 PiM).

Mottau broke camp with the New Jersey Devils in 2007-08 as a veteran of 23 NHL games in his 29 years on the planet. He would spend three seasons with the club (235 games, seven goals, 43 assists, 124 PiM), later playing with the New York Islanders (49 games, five assists, 23 PiM), the Boston Bruins (six games) and the Florida Panthers (eight games, four PiM). He is currently a free agent.

All-Time Statline: Four games, zero goals, zero assists, minus-1 rating, zero penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

418. Brad Ference

Ference was a 6’3″, 218 lb. defenseman from Calgary, Alberta. Born on April 2nd, 1979, he played in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs starting in 1995-96. In four WHL seasons, mostly with the Chiefs (and a little with the Tri-City Americans), he totaled 177 games, 24 goals, 89 assists and a whopping 796 penalty minutes. The Vancouver Canucks selected the bruiser in the first round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with the 10th overall pick.

After a trade to the Florida Panthers, Ference joined their AHL affiliate in Louisville (also the Panthers). In 58 games, he scored twice with seven assists and 231 penalty minutes. He also played in 13 contests with Florida, earning 46 penalty minutes along with two assists. It was more of the same the following season, which saw him play 52 games in Louisville (three goals, 21 assists, 200 PiM) and 14 games with Florida (one assist, 14 PiM).

In 2001-02, Ference graduated to the NHL full time with Florida. He played the next season and a half with the club (140 games, four goals, 21 assists, 372 PiM), later playing 78 games with the Phoenix Coyotes for parts of two seasons (zero goals, six assists, 131 PiM).

When the NHL lost the 2004-05 season, Ference played the year in France for Morzine-Avoriaz (17 games, two goals, 10 assists, 138 PIM). He then split 2005-06 between the Albany River Rats (43 games, three goals, eight assists, 96 PiM) and the San Antonio Rampage (19 games, two goals, nine assists, 39 PiM). He signed a free agent contract with the Flames during the 2006 offseason.

Ference appeared in five games for the Flames in the last half of December, 2006. He played just a touch under 12 minutes per game, taking one shot on goal, spending two minutes in the penalty box, and finishing with a minus-1 rating. Of course, he spent a much larger chunk of the season with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (73 games, three goals, 23 assists, 210 PiM).

2007-08 would see Ference spend his season with the Grand Rapids Griffins (32 games, one goal, one assist, 78 PiM). He is currently a firefighter in Calgary.

All-Time Statline: Five games, zero goals, zero assists, minus-1 rating, two penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

417. Dale McTavish

McTavish was 6'1, 200 lb. center from Eganville, Ontario. Born on February 28th, 1972, he played four seasons of Junior Hockey with the OHL's Peterborough Petes (258 games, 103 goals, 143 assists, 235 PiM). He then played two seasons with St. Francis Xavier University, scoring 54 goals and 51 assists in 50 games with the X-Men.

McTavish spent 1995-96 with the Canadian National Team (53 games, 24 goals, 32 assists). He also made his professional debut that season with the Saint John Flames, scoring two goals and three assists in four games.

1996-97 would see McTavish play most of the season with Saint John (53 games, 16 goals, 21 assists, 65 PiM). On New Years Eve, he made his Calgary debut, earning an assist on the Flames only goal in a 5-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Later, he would have a two game point streak, scoring a goal in a January 9th, 3-2 win over the Hartford Whalers, then earning an assist in a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. After nine games, he would get sent back to Saint John. He wouldn’t again appear in an NHL game.

McTavish went on to play with SaiPa Lappeenranta (129 games, 63 goals, 41 assists), the Blues (Sweden, 53 games, 32 goals, 19 assists), Rapperswil-Jona (179 games, 93 goals, 102 assists), Zurich (72 games, 32 goals, 37 assists), and Zug (110 games, 62 goals, 52 assists). He is currently the owner of the Pembroke Lumber Kings, a team for whom he played when he was 16 years old.

All-Time Statline: Nine games, one goal, two assists, minus-4 rating, two penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

416. Bruce Eakin

Eakin was a 5'11", 195 lb. center from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Born on September 28th, 1962, he played the 1980-81 season with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, scoring 18 goals with 46 assists in 52 games. The Flames selected him with their 10th round pick of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft with the 204th overall pick.

In 1981-82, Eakin spent most of his season with the Blades (66 games, 42 goals, 125 assists, 120 PiM), joining the Flames for one game and finishing with a plus-2 rating. He also earned three assists in three games with the Oklahoma City Stars. The next season, he played the entire season in the CHL with the Colorado Flames (73 games, 24 goals, 46 assists).

In 1983-84, Eakin again played most of the season with Colorado (67 games, 33 goals, 69 assists). He also got a seven game look in Calgary. He scored two goals on eight shots with an assist and four penalty minutes. 1984-85 would see him appear with Calgary in only one contest. He played 78 for the Moncton Golden Flames, scoring 35 goals with 48 helpers.

During the offseason, Eakin signed a free agent contract to be a Detroit Red Wing. He dished out one helper in four career games with the club, his last NHL appearance. He played several seasons overseas in Sweden, Finland and Germany before finishing up his career in the United Kingdom with the London Knights in 1998-99.

All-Time Statline: Nine games, two goals, one assist, minus-3 rating, four penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

by Kevin Kraczkowski