Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XL: 335-331

335. Benoit Gratton

Gratton, a 5'11", 194 lb. native of Montreal, Quebec, was born on December 28th, 1976. He played three seasons of Junior hockey in the QMJHL, between the Laval Titans (160 games, 60 goals, 111 assists, 399 PiM) and the Granby Predateurs (27 games, 12 goals, 46 assists, 97 PiM).  The Washington Capitals made him a fifth round pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, 105th overall. Before turning to the professional game, he played his last season in juniors. In the 1996 playoffs with the Predateurs, he scored 13 times with 26 helpers in just 21 contests.

A center, Gratton spent his first three professional season in Washington's system, between the AHL's Portland Pirates (198 games, 43 goals, 113 assists, 412 PiM) and the Caps (22 games, four goals, four assists, 22 PiM). On August 19th, 1999, the Capitals traded him to the Flames for Steve Shirreffs.

In 1999-00, Gratton spent most of his first season in Saint John, with the AHL version of the Flames. He averaged just over a point per game, scoring 17 times with 49 helpers in 65 contests. He was twice called up to play with Calgary, for five games each in January and in April. On January 18th, he made his first point with Calgary, an assist in a 6-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. In his 10 NHL appearances that year, he totaled two assists, going scoreless on four shots in eight minutes per game. He finished the season at plus-1 and earned 10 minutes in the penalty box.

Gratton scored 10 times with 36 assists in 53 games, with 153 penalty minutes for Saint John in 2000-01. On February 10th, he made two assists in a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. On April 2nd, he scored his only Calgary goal in a 4-4 tie with the Dallas Stars. He took a total of 13 shots over 14 games, collected three assists and an even rating, and spent 14 minutes in the penalty box. The Flames waived him on April 11th.

After his time with Calgary, Gratton later played with the Montreal Canadiens (12 games, one goal, one assist, 12 PiM), the Quebec Citadelles (35 games, 10 goals, 19 assists, 70 PiM), the Hamilton Bulldogs (93 games, 39 goals, 72 assists, 197 PiM), Lugano (Switzerland, 31 games, six goals, 12 assists, 81 PiM), and the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, 140 games, 31 goals, 81 assists, 450 PiM). He has spent the last seasons in Austria, with Vienna (267 games, 111 goals, 228 assists, 869 PiM).

All-Time Statline: 24 games, one goal, five assists, plus-1 rating, 24 penalty minutes, 0.42 point shares

334. Micki DuPont

DuPont, born on April 15th, 1980, is a native of Calgary, Alberta. He is a 5'10", 186 lb. defenseman. In four WHL seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, he scored 55 goals with 157 assists and 398 penalty minutes in 259 contests. After the 1999-00 season, the Flames selected him in the ninth round of the NHL Entry Draft, 270th overall.

DuPont joined the Saint John Flames for the 2000-01 campaign, and scored eight goals with 21 assists, a plus-28 rating and 28 penalty minutes in 67 contests. He added a goal and nine assists in 19 playoff games. The following season would see him play in 77 contests with Saint John (seven goals, 33 assists, 77 PiM). He appeared for Calgary twice at the end of the season, totaling 29 minutes on the ice, taking two shots on goal and spending two minutes in the penalty box.

In 2002-03, DuPont had 12 points and 21 assists in 44 games for Saint John. He scored his only NHL goal with the Flames on October 14th, in a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. He totaled 27 shots over 16 games, earning two helpers, a minus-5 rating and four penalty minutes in 17 minutes per contest. On March 11th, the Flames traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Mathias Johansson for Shean Donovan.

DuPont played with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (92 games, 19 goals, 37 assists, 117 PiM), the Berlin Polar Bears (Germany, 148 games, 32 goals, 65 assists, 247 PiM), the Pittsburgh Penguins (three games, one assist, four PiM), the St. Louis Blues (two games, two PiM), the Peoria Rivermen (76 games, 10 goals, 36 assists, 77 PiM), and two Swiss teams. Zug (96 games, 20 goals, 37 assists, 106 PiM) and his current team in Kloten (195 games, 31 goals, 106 assists, 201 PiM).

All-Time Statline: 18 games, one goal, two assists, minus-5 rating, six penalty minutes, 0.44 point shares.

333. Nikolai Borschevsky

Borschevsky, born January 8th, 1965, was a 5'9", 180 lb. right winger from Tomsk, USSR. He joined Moscow Dynamo in 1983-84, and stayed with the team for the next six seasons. In 206 contests, he totaled 34 goals and 37 assists. He then joined Moscow Spartak for three seasons (127 games, 58 goals, 54 assists).

When the Soviet Union dissolved, the Toronto Maple Leafs made Borschevsky a fourth round pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, with the 77th overall pick. The 1992-93 season would see him play in 78 games with Toronto, lighting the lamp 34 times with 40 helpers. Over the next season and a half, he would play in an additional 64 contests for the Leafs (14 goals, 25 assists). He also rejoined Moscow Spartak for nine games, where he scored five goals with one assist.

On April 6th, 1995, the Leafs traded Borschevsky to the Flames for a sixth round pick (Chris Bogas). In his first game there, he had two assists in a 7-4 Flames win over the Los Angeles Kings. On April 10th, he repeated the feat, earning another two assists in an 8-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks. He appeared in a total of eight games, took 12 shots on goal, and earned a total of five assists. He earned a plus-7 rating and did not get called for any penalties.

Borschevsky signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Stars before the 1995-96 season (12 games, one goal, three assists). Later, he also played with the Cologne Sharks (eight games, zero goals, four assists, 27 PiM). He played two more seasons with Moscow Spartak (88 games, 25 goals, 48 assists, 82 PiM) before retiring after the 1997-98 season. He ran a hockey camp for the next several seasons, later going into coaching.

All-Time Statline: Eight games, zero goals, five assists, plus-3 rating, zero penalty minutes, 0.46 point shares.

332. Tim Bernhardt

Bernhardt was a 5'9", 164 lb. goaltender from Sarnia, Ontario. Born on January 17th, 1958, he went 83-41-20, 3.63 over three seasons with the Cornwall Royals in the QMJHL starting in 1975-76. The Atlanta Flames chose him in the third round of the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, 47th overall.

Before making his NHL debut, Bernhardt played with the Tulsa Oilers (15-26-3), the Birmingham Bulls (26-29-3), the Rochester Americans (15-10-2), and the Oklahoma City Stars (1-8-0).

The 1982-83 season would see Bernhardt spend most of the season with the Colorado Flames (19-11-1, .881, 3.86). He also joined Calgary for six contests, losing five of them. He allowed 21 goals on 147 shots, for a less than write-home-aboutable .857 save percentage.

After his time with Calgary, Bernhardt later played with the Toronto Maple Leafs (17-31-7, .866, 4.26), the St. Catharines Saints (36-24-8) and the Newmarket Saints (49-59-7).

All-Time Statline: Six games, 0-5-0, 126 saves, 147 shots faced, 4.50 goals against average, .857 save percentage, 0.47 point shares.

331. Jim Craig

Craig, a 6'1", 190 lb. goaltender, was born on May 31st, 1957 in North Easton, Massachusetts. He played three collegiate seasons with the Boston University Terriers, going 29-4-2 (incomplete). During the 1977 offseason, he was twice selected in professional hockey drafts. In the ninth round of the WHA Entry Draft by the Cincinnati Stingers, 79th overall, and in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft, by the Atlanta Flames, 72nd overall.

1978-79 and 1979-80 would see Craig spend most of his time on the US National Team. He played in a total of 65 contests with them, including a 6-0-1, 2.14 GAA performance in the 1980 Olympic tournament at Lake Placid, New York, helping to lead the US to an improbable Gold Medal performance. He also appeared in four contests for Atlanta, going 1-2-1, with a 3.79 goals against average.

During the 1980 offseason, Craig was traded from Atlanta to the Boston Bruins for two draft picks (Steve Konroyd and Mike Vernon). His post-Flames career consists of time with the Bruins (9-7-6, 3.68), the Erie Blades (3-9-1), the US National Team, the Minnesota North Stars (1-1-0, .839 save percentage, 4.91 GAA), and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. He retired after the 1983-84 season, and has since spent his time as a motivational speaker.

All-Time Statline: Four games, 1-2-1, 3.79 goals against average, 0.48 point shares.

With that, we wrap up the first 200 Flames on the countdown. Check back tomorrow for a Granlund plus four others.