Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXXVIII: 345-341

345. Tom Kostopoulos

Kostopoulos is a 6', 197 lb. right winger from Mississauga, Ontario. Born on January 24th, 1979, he played in 196 contests in the OHL with the London Knights starting in 1996-97. Over his three seasons of Junior Hockey, he totaled 64 goals, 98 assists, and 289 penalty minutes. He totaled 19 goals and 16 assists in 25 games in the 1999 postseason as the Knights fell just short of the Memorial Cup. Soon afterward, the Pittsburgh Penguins made him a seventh round selection in the NHL Entry Draft, 204th overall.

Kostopoulos spent five seasons in the Penguins organization. A vast majority of his time was spent with Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (318 games, 97 goals, 159 assists, 527 PiM). In 79 contests with Pittsburgh, he scored eight goals with 16 helpers and 76 penalty minutes. He joined the Manchester Monarchs in the AHL during the 2004-05 NHL work stoppage, and scored 25 times with 46 assists with 99 penalty minutes in 64 games.

In 2005-06, Kostopoulos spent his first complete season in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings. He played in 152 games for them over the next two seasons, scoring 15 goals with 29 assists and 173 penalty minutes. Later, he also played with the Montreal Canadiens (145 games, 15 goals, 20 assists, 219 PiM) and the Carolina Hurricanes (99 games, nine goals, 16 assists, 136 PiM). On November 17th, 2010, he was traded with Anton Babchuk to the Flames for Ian White and Brett Sutter.

In his first Flames season, Kostopoulos scored seven goals on 66 shots with seven assists in 59 games. He played 12:38 per game, posted a minus-3 rating, and built up 44 penalty minutes. On New Years' Eve, he scored a goal with an assist in a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. He had two goals and an assist in a losing effort on March 20th in a 5-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

2011-12 would see Kostopoulos play in every Flames game but one, scoring four times on 91 shots. He tabbed eight assists while skating for 12:19 per appearance with a minus-15 rating and 57 minutes in the penalty box. On December 10th, he scored the game winner in a 3-0 decision over the Edmonton Oilers.

Kostopoulos later played in 15 games for the New Jersey Devils (one goal, 18 penalty minutes). He has spent most of the last two seasons back with Wilkes-Barre Scranton (88 games, 25 goals, 29 assists, 115 PiM). Currently, he's not under contract with any team.

All-Time Statline: 140 games, 11 goals, 15 assists, minus-18 rating, 101 penalty minutes, 0.38 point shares.

344. Darren McCarty

McCarty, a Burnaby, British Columbia native, was born on April 1st, 1972. He took up hockey, and gravitated to the right wing position. He joined the Belleville Bulls in in 1989-90 for three seasons, and racked up 97 goals, 124 assists, and 470 penalty minutes in 188 contests. The Detroit Red Wings chose him in the second round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft with the 42nd overall pick.

1992-93 would see McCarty spend his first professional season with the Adirondack Red Wings (73 games, 17 goals, 19 assists, 278 PiM). He wouldn't make another AHL appearance for the next 15 years. He joined Detroit at the beginning of the 1993-94 season, and played the next 11 seasons with the club. (643 games, 119 goals, 154 assists, 1275 PiM).

McCarty signed a free agent contract to play for the Flames just before the 2005-06 season started. On October 7th, he tallied his first Flames goal in a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Over the course of the season, he appeared in 67 games, scoring seven goals on 67 shots, along with six assists. He posted a minus-1 rating and earned 117 penalty minutes in 11:43 per game.

In 2006-07, McCarty played 5:24 per game, going scoreless through 32 contests. He took 15 shots on goal and posted a minus-3 rating with 58 penalty minutes. The following season would see him split the year between the IHL's Flint Generals (11 games, three goals, three assists, 30 PiM), the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins (13 games, five goals, five assists, 21 PiM), and Detroit, where he scored an assist in three games. He would add a goal and an assist in 17 playoff contests.

McCarty played his last professional season in 2008-09, splitting the year between the Griffins (19 games, five goals, six assists, 21 PiM) and the Wings (13 games, one goal, 25 PiM). He is currently an NHL analyst for the Versus network.

All-Time Statline: 99 games, seven goals, six assists, minus-4 rating, 175 penalty minutes, 0.39 point shares.

343. Craig Coxe

Coxe was a 6'4", 210 lb. left winger from Chula Vista, California. Born on January 21st, 1964, he had 17 goals with 48 assists in 51 games, with 212 penalty minutes for the St. Albert Saints in the AJHL in 1981-82. The Detroit Red Wings selected him in the fourth round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, with the 66th overall pick.

Before turning pro, Coxe joined the Belleville Bulls for two seasons (109 games, 31 goals, 45 assists, 192 PiM). He enjoyed his first professional season in 1984-85 between the Fredericton Express (62 games, eight goals, seven assists, 242 PiM) and the Vancouver Canucks (nine games, 49 PiM).

Coxe would remain with the Canucks for the next two and a half seasons (136 games, nine goals, 32 assists, 393 PiM). On March 6th, 1988, Vancouver traded him to the Flames for Brian Bradley, Kevan Guy, and Peter Bakovic. On March 9th, he had two assists and 17 penalty minutes in a 6-6 tie with the Winnipeg Jets. On March 24th, he had a goal and an assist in a 7-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. In total, he scored twice on five shots with three assists in seven contests. He had a plus-3 rating and 32 penalty minutes. He added a goal in two playoff games.

During the 1988 offseason, the Flames traded Coxe with Mike Bullard and Tim Corkery to the St. Louis Blues for Mark Hunter, Doug Gilmour, Steve Bozek, and Michael Dark. After his time with the Blues (41 games, seven assists, 127 PiM), he later played with the Canucks (32 games, one goal, four assists, 93 PiM), the San Jose Sharks (10 games, two goals, 19 PiM). He played eight more minor league seasons, retiring after the 1999-00 season with the CHL's San Antonio Iguanas (20 games, one goal, five assists).

All-Time Statline: Seven games, two goals, three assists, plus-3 rating, 32 penalty minutes, 0.40 point shares.

342. Christopher Breen

Breen, a 6'7", 224 lb. defenseman from Uxbridge, Ontario, was born on June 29th, 1989. He played five seasons of Junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League, between the Saginaw Spirit (125 games, one goal, 10 assists, 118 PiM), the Erie Otters (71 games, 14 games, 42 PiM), and the Peterborough Petes (53 games, four goals, eight assists, 36 PiM).

2009-10 would see Breen play in one professional game and make one assist with the Abbotsford Heat. He played the next four seasons with the Heat as well (244 games, nine goals, 20 assists, 168 PiM). He was called up to the Flames on five occasions through the year, playing in a total of nine games. He made his first NHL point on April 3rd, an assist in a 4-1 Calgary win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He finished the season with a plus-1 rating, five minutes in the penalty box, and an average appearance of 9:23.

All-Time Statline: Nine games, zero goals, two assists, plus-1 rating, five penalty minutes, 0.41 point shares.

341. Tyler Wotherspoon

Wotherspoon is a 6'2", 210 lb. defenseman from Surrey, British Columbia. Born on March 12th, 1993, he joined the WHL's Portland Winterhawks for the 2008-09 season. After three seasons with the club (110 games, three goals, 14 assists), the Flames selected him with their second round pick, 57th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Wotherspoon played two more full seasons with the Winterhawks (128 games, 14 goals, 51 assists, 72 PiM). In 2013-14, he joined the Abbotsford Heat for his first taste of the professional game. In 48 appearances, he scored a goal with nine assists, a plus-13 rating, and 12 penalty minutes. On March 7th, the Flames called him up for the first time.

On March 8th, he scored his first point, an assist in a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. He scored an assist in each of the three Flames games from March 22nd through the 26th. In total, he played in 14 games with Calgary, taking three shots on goal and totaling those four assists. He registered a minus-3 rating in 13 and a half minutes per game, earning four penalty minutes. He is currently signed with Calgary for the next two seasons at $1,850,000.

All-Time Statline: 14 games, zero goals, four assists, minus-3 rating, four penalty minutes, 0.41 point shares.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for part 39, and keep it locked down here at Matchsticks and Gasoline for all of your Flames news.