Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXIX: 390-386

390. Yves Courteau

Courteau was a 6′, 194 lb. right winger from Montreal, Quebec. Born on April 25th, 1964, he was a two year veteran of the QMJHL’s Laval Voisins (134 games, 54 goals, 77 assists) when selected by the Detroit Red Wings. They picked him up in the second round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft with the 23rd overall pick. Detroit traded him to the Flames on December 2nd, 1982 for Bob Francis.

Courteau would spend another two seasons with Laval (130 games, 89 goals, 153 assists) before making the jump to the pro game. In 1984-85, he spent most of the year with the Moncton Golden Flames (59 games, 19 goals, 21 assists). He also made his NHL debut with Calgary, appearing in 14 contests and scoring once on 18 shots with four helpers, a plus-2 rating, and four penalty minutes.

The following season would see Courteau spend 70 games with Moncton (26 goals, 22 assists) and play in four more contests for the Flames. He totaled a goal on seven shots and an assist and a plus-1 rating. Later, he appeared in one playoff game for Calgary.

Just before the start of the 1986-87 season, the Flames traded Courteau to the Hartford Whalers for Mark Paterson. He played in just four games for Hartford over the next two seasons, spending most of the rest of his career with the Binghampton Whalers (82 games, 30 goals, 50 assists).

All-Time Statline: 18 games, two goals, five assists, plus-3 rating, four penalty minutes, 0.10 point shares.

389. Greg Meredith

Meredith was a 6'1", 210 lb. forward from Toronto, Ontario. Born on February 23rd, 1958, he played four seasons of college level hockey with Notre Dame. In 145 contests for the Fighting Irish, he scored 102 goals and 86 assists before graduating with the Class of 1980. The Flames selected him after his sophomore season in the sixth round of the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, 97th overall.

In 1980-81, Meredith spent most of the season in the minor leagues between the Tulsa Oilers (10 games, six goals, four assists) and the Birmingham Bulls (39 games, 17 goals, 10 assists). He was called up for three games with Calgary, scoring a goal on five shots and finishing his season at plus-1. He spent the entire following season with the Oklahoma City Stars, scoring 10 goals with 23 assists in 80 CHL contests.

1982-83 would see Meredith spend the first half of the season with the Colorado Flames (36 games, 16 goals, 10 assists). The second half of the season was with Calgary. He played in 35 NHL games that year with five goals on 39 shots, along with four assists and a minus-5 rating. He remained with the club in the postseason, scoring three goals with an assist in five contests. He retired following his next season, spent with the Colorado Flames (54 games, 23 goals, 20 assists).

All-Time Statline: 38 games, six goals, four assists, minus-4 rating, eight penalty minutes, 0.10 point shares.

388. Fredrik Sjostrom

Sjostrom was a 6’1″, 218 lb. right winger from Fargelanda, Sweden. Born on May 6th, 1983, he was chosen in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes, 11th overall after just one season in the Swedish League. He would spend his first six and a half seasons as a pro with the Coyotes organization, playing with the Calgary Hitmen (121 games, 53 goals, 74 assists, plus-22 rating, 146 PiM), the Springfield Falcons (19 games, one goal, seven assists), the Utah Grizzlies (strike season, 80 games, 14 goals, 24 assists, 57 PiM), and the Coyotes (261 games, 32 goals, 41 assists, 126 PiM).

After a trade to the Rangers on February 26th, 2008, Sjostrom played the rest of the season and the next with New York (97 games, nine goals, six assists). On July 1st, 2009, he signed a free agent contract to play with Calgary. In his first game, on October 1st, he tabbed an assist on the game winning goal as the Flames defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3. On October 20th, he scored a goal and assisted on another within three minutes of each other in the third period of a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In total, he played 46 games with the Flames, with the one goal (on 33 shots), five assists and a plus-2 rating.

On January 31st, the Flames traded Sjostrom to the Toronto Maple Leafs with Dion Phaneuf and Keith Aulie for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White. He played 85 games with the Leafs, with four goals and six assists. He retired from the professional game prior to the 2013-14 season.

All-Time Statline: 46 games, one goal, five assists, plus-2 rating, eight penalty minutes, 0.10 point shares.

387. Krzysztof Oliwa

Oliwa was a 6’5″, 245 lb. left winger from Tychy, Poland. Born April 12th, 1973, he was selected in the third round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, 63rd overall. He made his NHL debut after most of four seasons toiling in the Devils minor league system near the end of the 1996-97 season.

Oliwa played four seasons with the Devils (207 games, 13 goals, 20 assists, 724 PiM). Later, he also appeared with the Columbus Blue Jackets (10 games, two assists, 34 PiM), the Pittsburgh Penguins (83 games, one goal, four assists, 281 PiM), the New York Rangers (nine games, 51 PiM), and the Boston Bruins (33 games, 110 PiM). He signed with the Flames on the first day of free agency in 2003.

Oliwa spent one season with the Flames, leading the team with an NHL third most 247 penalty minutes. Incredibly, he only played a total of 320 minutes over 65 games. That means he averaged five minutes in the game and four minutes in the box per game. He scored three goals on 32 shots, added two assists and finished the season with a minus-8 rating.

After the season, Oliwa signed on with the Devils for a second run. He only played in three contests for the club, and chose not to report to New Jersey's minor league when sent down. After the season, he retired and took control of the Polish National Hockey Program.

All-Time Statline: 65 games, three goals, two assists, minus-8 rating, 247 penalty minutes, 0.10 point shares.

386. Brian Boucher

Boucher, known also as “Boosh,” was a 6’2″, 198 lb. goaltender. Born on January 2nd, 1977, the Woonsocket, Rhode Island native was chosen in the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 22nd overall pick.

Boucher played in parts of three seasons in his first of four stints with the Flyers (46-38-12, seven shutouts, a 2.40 GAA, and a .910 save percentage. This includes an NHL leading 1.91 GAA for his rookie season, when he finished sixth in the race for the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) and ninth in the running for the Veniza Trophy (best goaltender). He followed that with two and a half seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes (28-45-18, five shutouts, .898, 2.98).

On February 6th, 2006, the Coyotes traded Boucher to the Flames with Mike Leclerc for Steve Reinprecht and Phillippe Suave. He played in three games for the Flames. He won his first when he stopped 20-of-22 shots in a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on February 10th. On March 18th, the Flames left him in even when it was apparent that he had seen better days. He stopped 37 shots, but lost the game to the Nashville Predators, 9-4. A month later, he lost his last start with the team, a 4-3 decision to the Anaheim Ducks.

Boucher signed with the Chicago Blackhawks after the season. He went 1-10-3 for Chicago with a 3.26 GAA and an .884 save percentage. He later played with the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1-0, .866, 3.80), the San Jose Sharks (15-7-4, .919, 2.12), the Carolina Hurricanes (1-6-1, .881, 3.41) and the Flyers (27-30-7, .907, 2.57). He still owns the NHL record for consecutive scoreless goaltending, a 5:32:01 span for the Coyotes in which he stopped 140 consecutive shots on goal.

All-Time Statline: Three games, 1-2-0, 103 shots faced, 88 saves, .854 save percentage, 4.95 goals against average, 0.11 point shares.

In our next installment, Monday morning, we’ll take a look at Mark Cundari, amongst others.

by Kevin Kraczkowski