Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXIV: 415-411

415. Nevin Markwart

Markwart, a Toronto, Ontario native, was born on December 9th, 1964. He eventually grew into a 5’11”, 175 lb. left winger. After two seasons with the Regina Pats in the WHL (68 games, 29 goals, 51 assists), the Boston Bruins selected him in the first round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, with the 21st overall pick.

Markwart joined the Bruins for 70 games in his first season with them, and spent seven and a half of the next nine seasons with Boston, also playing in under 100 games for the Bruins AHL affiliates, the Hershey Bears, the Moncton Golden Flames, and the Maine Mariners. As a Bruin, he appeared in 299 regular season games, scoring 39 goals with 67 assists, a minus-3 rating and 769 penalty minutes. When the Bruins waived him on Valentine’s Day in 1992, the Flames snagged him off the wire.

Markwart notched his first point with the Flames on March 7th, an assist in a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. He also scored two goals on four shots in his 10 games with Calgary, posted a minus-2 rating, and spent 25 minutes in the box (17 of them in one contest).

1992-93 season would see Markwart spend seven games with the Springfield Indians, scoring two goals and earning 24 penalty minutes.

All-Time Statline: 10 games, two goals, one assist, minus-2 rating, 25 penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

414. Guillaume Desbiens

Desbiens, born on April 20th, 1985, is a 6'2", 205 lb. right winger from Alma, Quebec. He played four seasons at the Junior level with the QMJHL's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, scoring 76 times with 65 assists and 753 penalty minutes in 243 contests. The Atlanta Thrashers selected him in the fourth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 116th overall pick.

Desbiens made his first professional appearance with the 2005-06 Gwinnett Gladiators in the ECHL (65 games, 33 goals, 27 assists, 187 PiM). Over the next five seasons, he appeared with the Chicago Wolves (80 games, five goals, seven assists, 148 PiM), the Gladiators (10 games, two goals, five assists, 46 PiM), and the Manitoba Moose (198 games, 51 goals, 57 assists). He also played 13 games with the Vancouver Canucks during that time. During the 2011 offseason, the Flames signed him to a free agent contract.

In 2011-12, Desbiens played most of his hockey season with the Abbotsford Heat, appearing in 59 games and scoring three times with 11 assists, a minus-18 rating, and 114 penalty minutes. Between February and March, he played in 10 games for the Flames, clocking in at around seven minutes per game. He took two shots on goal and earned five fighting majors. He signed another free agent with the Canucks during the offseason.

After spending 2012-13 back in the AHL with the Wolves (52 games, four goals, four assists, 118 PiM), he played the 2013-14 campaign with the Lake Erie Monsters (62 games, eight goals, six assists, 200 PiM). He is currently a free agent.

All-Time Statline: 10 games, zero goals, zero assists, minus-1 rating, 25 penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

413. Stefan Meyer

Meyer, a Medicine Hat, Alberta native, is a 6’2″, 200 lb. left winger from Fox Valley, Saskatchewan. Starting in 2000-01, he played five seasons with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers (282 games, 123 goals, 123 assists, 311 PiM). The Florida Panthers selected him in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 55th overall pick.

Meyer made his first appearance as a professional with the 2005-06 Rochester Americans. He lit the lamp 12 times and dished out 16 helpers in 68 contests with 139 penalty minutes. In total, he spent four seasons with the Americans totaling 266 games and scoring 64 goals with 66 assists and 130 penalty minutes. He appeared in four games for the Panthers in 2007-08.

Here’s Meyer giving Ryan Jones the business.

After a season with the San Antonio Rampage in 2009-10 (67 games, eight goals, 10 assists, 86 PiM), Meyer signed a contract with Calgary. 2010-11 would see him start the season with the Flames, earning two assists through 16 games through mid-November. He notched his first NHL point on October 24th by tabbing an assist in a 4-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Sharks. He played just under eight minutes per game and take a total of 12 shots on goal with 17 penalty minutes. He appeared in 42 games for the Abbotsford Heat that season, scoring 12 times with five assists.

Meyer hasn't again appeared in the NHL, and after six games with the Heat to open the 2011-12 season hasn't again appeared in North American hockey. He has spent the intervening time in Swedish, German, and British professional leagues.

All-Time Statline: 16 games, zero goals, two assists, even rating, 17 penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

412. Gene Carr

Carr was a 5'11", 185 lb. center from Nanaimo, British Columbia. Born on September 17th, 1951, he was with the WCHL Flin Flon Bombers for two seasons starting in 1969-70. While with the Junior club, he scored 58 times with 119 assists and 268 penalty minutes in 122 contests. The St. Louis Blues selected him in the first round of the 1971 NHL Entry Draft, with the fourth overall pick.

Carr skipped the minor leagues, joining the Blues directly out of training camp. He scored three goals with a pair of assists in nine games before getting traded to the New York Rangers. For the next seven seasons, he went back and forth between the Rangers (138 games, 18 goals, 23 assists, 90 PiM) and the Los Angeles Kings (212 games, 38 goals, 66 assists, 184 PiM). He closed out the 1977-78 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins (70 games, 17 goals, 37 assists, 76 PiM).

During the 1978 offseason, the Atlanta Flames signed Carr. He played in 30 games for the soon-to-be relocated franchise in 1978-79, scoring three goals on 35 shots with eight assists, a minus-4 rating, and six penalty minutes. He also played 22 games that season in the CHL with the Tulsa Oilers (four goals, eight assists, 35 penalty minutes).

All-Time Statline: 30 games, three goals, eight assists, minus-4 rating, six penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

411. Dean Evason

Evason, a 5’10”, 180 lb. center from Flin Flon, Manitoba, was born on August 22nd, 1964. He was part of the 1981-82 Spokane Flyers in the WHL when the Washington Capitals chose him in the fifth round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft with the 89th overall pick.

After his selection, Evason spent most of the next three seasons in the WHL with the Kamloops Junior Oilers, scoring over two points per game (171 games, 141 goals, 236 assists). He played two games for the Capitals late in the 1983-84 season.

Evason played parts of two seasons in Washington (17 games, three goals, four assists, four PiM), later appearing with the Hartford Whalers (434 games, 87 goals, 148 assists, 615 PiM), the San Jose Sharks (158 games, 23 goals, 34 assists, minus-57 rating, 231 PiM), and the Dallas Stars (127 games, 19 goals, 40 assists, 114 PiM). He signed with Calgary as a free agent during the 1995 offseason.

Evason spent the entire 1995-96 season with the Flames. He scored a goal and an assist on October 10th in a 7-3 loss to the Stars. From December 1st through the 9th, he scored three points (two goals, one assist) in four games. All told, he appeared in 67 contests with Calgary, lighting the lamp seven times on 68 shots with as many helpers.

Evason went on to play in Switzerland and Germany over the next three seasons. He went into coaching after retirement, and is currently the top dog with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals.

All-Time Statline: 67 games, seven goals, seven assists, minus-6 rating, 38 penalty minutes, 0.00 point shares.

Tomorrow we'll finally get into players with positive point shares, starting with Blair Jones. Keep on checking us out as we march to the top throughout the summer.

by Kevin Kraczkowski