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Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter LV: 260-256

Today, center Roman Cervenka, left winger Bobby Simpson, and defensemen Al McDonough, Brad Stuart, and Brad Werenka.

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260. Al McDonough

McDonough was born on June 6th, 1950 in St. Catharines, Ontario. A 6', 165 lb. defenseman, he was originally acquired by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 1970 NHL Entry Draft, with the 24th overall selection.

McDonough played three seasons with the St. Catharines Black Hawks in the OHA starting in 1967-68, scoring 85 times with 84 assists and 104 penalty minutes in 156 games. Once he turned professional to start the 1970-71 season, he spent his first two seasons with the Kings organization. He split his time between the Springfield Kings (65 games, 33 goals, 16 assists) and Los Angeles (37 games, five goals, three assists). He followed that with two and a half seasons on the Pittsburgh Penguins (152 games, 56 goals, 74 assists).

On January 4th, 1974, the Penguins traded McDonough to the Flames for Chuck Arnason and Bob Paradise. He scored 10 times on 108 shots over 35 appearances. He also earned nine assists, spent 15 minutes in the penalty box, and finished the regular season with a minus-4 rating. He appeared in four postseason contests after the end of the regular season, impacting the scoresheet with a two minute minor penalty.

Following his time with Atlanta, McDonough played with the Cleveland Crusaders (WHA, 158 games, 57 goals, 52 assists), the Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA, 42 games, nine goals, 21 assists), the Detroit Red Wings (13 games, two goals, two assists), and the Kansas City Red Wings (CHL, 52 games, 18 goals, 24 assists).

All-Time Statline: 35 games, 10 goals, nine assists, minus-4 rating, 15 penalty minutes, 1.56 point shares.

259. Roman Cervenka

Cervenka, a 5'11", 185 lb. center, was born on December 10th, 1985 in Praha, Czech Republic. He joined Calgary through free agency during the 2012 offseason.

Cervenka got his start while playing with Slavia Praha Hockey Club in Czechoslovakia in 2003-04. He totaled six seasons with the club, racking up 83 goals and 92 assists in 230 contests. He later played in the KHL with Omsk Avangard (105 games, 54 goals, 46 assists), rejoined Slavia (nine games, five goals, eight assists), and spent five games with Prague Lev back in the KHL again, scoring a goal and two assists.

Cervenka signed a contract with the Flames through free agency just as the 2012 offseason got underway. On February 13th, he scored a goal and assisted on a second in a 7-4 Flames win over the Dallas Stars. He scored two goals on March 24th, in a 3-2 triumph over the St. Louis Blues. He again scored a pair of markers on April 23rd, as the Nashville Predators set the Flames down, 4-3. He totaled a team fifth best nine goals on only 51 shots, with eight assists, a minus-13 rating, and 14 penalty minutes on the season.

Cervenka spent the 2013-14 season back in the KHL with St. Petersburg (53 games, 14 goals, 25 assists).

All-Time Statline: 39 games, nine goals, eight assists, minus-13 rating, 14 penalty minutes, 1.56 point shares.

258. Brad Stuart

Born in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Stuart was a 6'2", 215 lb. defenseman. The third overall selection in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft was born on November 6th, 1979, and was chosen in the first round by the San Jose Sharks.

Stuart first earned the Sharks’ notice while playing with the Regina Pats in the WHL starting in 1995-96. he played three and a half seasons with the Pats, scoring 37 goals with 100 assists in 161 games. He also also played 30 WHL games with the Calgary Hitmen (11 games, 22 assists). He ended up playing six seasons with San Jose (377 games, 36 goals, 117 assists), joining the Boston Bruins halfway through the 2005-06 season (103 games, 17 goals, 31 assists).

On February 10th, 2007, the Bruins traded Stuart with Wayne Primeau for a draft choice  (TJ Brodie) to the Flames for Andrew Ference and Chuck Kobasew. He closed out the 2006-07 season with Calgary, failing to light the lamp despite 35 shots on goal. He did earn five assists, a plus-12 rating, and 18 penalty minutes in 27 games, averaging an impressive 22:48 per contest. After the season ended, he played six games with in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, earning one assist.

Stuart signed on with the Los Angeles Kings (63 games, five goals, 16 assists) during the 2007 offseason. He later appeared with the Detroit Red Wings (306 games, 16 goals, 62 assists) before rejoining the Sharks for the 2012-13 season for three years and $10.8 million. He has scored three goals with 14 assists over 109 games.

All-Time Statline: 27 games, zero goals, five assists, plus-12 rating, 18 penalty minutes, 1.66 point shares.

257. Brad Werenka

Werenka, a product of Northern Michigan University, was a native of Two Hills, Alberta. The 6'2", 205 lb. defenseman was born on February 12th, 1969. He played five seasons with NMU, scoring 40 goals with 88 assists in 147 games. The Edmonton Oilers selected him after his freshman season in the second round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, 42nd overall.

After graduating with the Class of 1991, Werenka played with the Cape Breton Oilers (95 games, 13 goals, 39 assists), Edmonton (42 games, five goals, seven assists), the Canadian National Team (26 games, five goals, nine assists). the Quebec Nordiques (11 games, zero goals, seven assists), the Cornwall Aces (12 playoff games, two goals, 10 assists), the Milwaukee Admirals (80 games, eight goals, 45 assists), the Indianapolis Ice (155 games, 35 goals, 98 assists), the Chicago Blackhawks (nine games), and the Pittsburgh Penguins (213 games, 12 goals, 41 assists, 208 PiM).

Pittsburgh traded Werenka to the Flames for Tyler Moss and Rene Corbet on March 14th, 2000. He appeared in 12 games to close the Flames’ season out, scoring a goal on 20 shots with an assist, 21 penalty minutes, and a minus-2 rating. He played 24:37 per game. On March 22nd, he scored his first goal for the Flames in a 2-2 tie with the Detroit Red Wings.

In 2000-01, Werenka played 18:02 per game over 33 Calgary appearances. He scored a single goal on 23 shots with four assists, a minus-3 rating, and 16 minutes in the penalty box. On November 4th, he accounted for all of Calgary’s offense with a goal in a 1-1 tie with the Penguins.

All-Time Statline: 45 games, two goals, five assists, minus-5 rating, 37 penalty minutes, 1.67 point shares.

256. Bobby Simpson

Simpson was born on November 17th, 1956 in Caughnawaga, Quebec. A 6', 185 lb. left winger, he joined the Atlanta Flames after they selected him in the second round of the 1976 NHL Entry Draft, with the 28th overall pick. He was also a first round selection of the Indianapolis Racers in the WHA Draft in the same year, fourth overall.

Simpson played three seasons with the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Castors (201 games, 100 goals, 145 assists), including 133 points in 68 games in 1975-76. He made his Flames debut after his selection, playing the entire 1976-77 season with the club. He scored 13 goals on 118 shots with 10 assists. He earned a plus-2 rating and spent 45 minutes in the penalty box.

In 1977-78, Simpson played 14 games in the CHL with the Tulsa Oilers, scoring eight goals and assisting on eight more. He spent 55 games with Atlanta, scoring 10 goals on 91 shots with an even rating and 49 penalty minutes. Over his two seasons with the team, he totaled a single assist in four postseason contests.

After playing the 1978-79 season with Tulsa (49 games, 14 goals, 19 assists), Simpson joined the St. Louis Blues (18 games, two goals, two assists), the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (160 games, 36 goals, 65 assists), the Pittsburgh Penguins (26 games, nine goals, nine assists), the Muskegon Mohawks (42 games, 17 goals, 26 assists), the Erie Blades (48 games, 25 goals, 23 assists), the Baltimore Skipjacks (132 games, 40 goals, 43 assists), the Indianapolis Checkers (55 games, 16 goals, 24 assists), the Peoria Rivermen (58 games, 14 goals, 29 assists), and the Saginaw Lumber Kings (13 games, three goals, two assists).

All-Time Statline: 127 games, 23 goals, 18 assists, plus-2 rating, 94 penalty minutes, 1.68 point shares.