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Calgary Flames

Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter LVII: 250-246

In Chapter 57, we check out defenseman Kerry Ketter, goaltenders Leland Irving and Yves Belanger, left winger Dan Labraaten, and center Brian Bradley.

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250. Kerry Ketter

Ketter, a Prince George, British Columbia native, was born on September 20th, 1947. A 6'1", 202 lb. defenseman, he played his junior hockey in the CHL with the Forth Worth Wings. He played two seasons there starting in 1968-69, collecting six goals and 18 assists in 123 games.

Ketter played the 1970-71 season in the AHL with the Baltimore Clippers (71 games, two goals, 20 assists, 102 PiM). He played the following season with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs (69 games, two goals, eight assists, 108 PiM).

By the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft, Ketter was the property of the Montreal Canadiens. The Flames selected him off the Habs for their inaugural season, and he ended up appearing in 41 contests. Although he totaled 31 shots on goal, he failed to bury any of them in the net. He did assist on two, post a minus-6 rating, and earn 58 penalty minutes. He played with Atlanta’s AHL team, the Dallas Black Hawks, in 1973-74 (65 games, five goals, 20 assists, 85 PiM).

At the start of the 1974 offseason, Ketter was chosen in another expansion draft, by the Kansas City Scouts (New Jersey Devils). He would appear with the Clippers (44 games, one goal, seven assists, 44 PiM), the Omaha Knights (31 games, two goals, 11 assists, 36 PiM), and the Edmonton Oilers.

All-Time Statline: 41 games, zero goals, two assists, minus-6 rating, 58 penalty minutes, 1.77 point shares.

249. Yves Belanger

Belanger, a 5'11, 170 lb. goaltender from Baie Comeau, Quebec, was born on September 30th, 1952. He played three seasons in the QMJHL with the Sherbrooke Castors (61-61-2, 4.85) starting in 1969-70.

After playing a season in the EHL with the Syracuse Blazers, Belanger joined the AHL’s Jacksonville Barons, the St. Louis Blues (19-23-3, 3.66), the Denver Spurs (19-13-3, 3.06), the Providence Reds, the Kansas City Blues (21-4-4, 2.73), and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (5-3-0, 2.44).

On December 12th, 1977, Belanger was traded from St. Louis with Bob MacMillian, Dick Redmond and a second round pick (Mike Perovich) to the Flames for Phil Myre, Curt Bennett, and Barry Gibbs. He played 17 games for Atlanta to close out the 1977-78 season, backing up incumbent netminder Dan Bouchard. He went 7-8-0 with a 3.52 goals against average with one shutout.

In 1978-79, Belanger played in 22 games for the AHL’s Philadelphia Firebirds (4-14-1, 5.25). He also spent a total of five games with Atlanta, racking up a 1-2-0 record with an exorbitant 6.92 goals against average. He later appeared with the Binghampton Dusters (7-13-1, 4.27), and the Boston Bruins (2-0-3, 3.48).

All-Time Statline: 22 games, 8-10-0, 76 goals allowed, 4.08 goals against average, 1.79 point shares.

248. Dan Labraaten

Labraaten, a Swede from the city of Leksand, was born on September 5th, 1951. A 6', 190 lb. left winger, he played two seasons in Sweden's top level starting in 1974-75 with his hometown club, Leksands (46 games, 37 goals, 23 assists).

In 1976-77, Labraaten joined the WHA’s Winnipeg Jets, playing with them for two seasons (111 games, 42 goals, 43 assists). After the WHA’s dissolution, he joined the Detroit Red Wings for three campaigns (198 games, 52 goals, 54 assists). On February 3rd, 1981, the Wings sent him to Calgary for Earl Ingarfield, Jr.

Labraaten played in 27 contests to finish out the 1980-81 season with the Flames. He scored nine times on 39 shots with seven assists, a plus-1 rating and 13 penalty minutes.

In 1981-82, Labraaten played in 43 games for Calgary, scoring 22 points and earning a minus-4 rating with only six penalty minutes. He scored 10 times on 60 shots with a dozen assists in what would be his last action on a north american club. Over his two seasons he scored a goal in eight postseason matchups.

After taking a season off, Labraaten rejoined Leksands for five more seasons, scoring 84 goals with 68 assists in 154 contests.

All-Time Statline: 70 games, 19 goals, 19 assists, minus-3 rating, 19 penalty minutes, 1.79 point shares.

Bradley had 197 points over two seasons with the OHL’s London Knights starting in 1981-82. Calgary noticed, and spent a third round selection on him in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, 51st overall. Born on January 21st, 1965, the native of Kitchener, Ontario was a 5’10”, 180 lb. center.

Bradley played most of two more seasons with the Knights, averaging well over two points per game (81 games, 67 goals, 109 assists). He joined the Moncton Golden Flames for most of 1985-86 (59 games, 23 goals, 42 assists), also making his first NHL appearance with Calgary for five games. He did not score on four shots, earning one assist, a minus-3 rating and zero penalty minutes.

In 1986-87, Bradley played in 40 games for the Flames, scoring 10 goals on 64 shots with 18 assists, a plus-6 rating, and 16 penalty minutes. He also rejoined Moncton for 20 games, scoring 12 goals with 16 assists.

In 1987-88, Bradley joined Team Canada, playing 54 games and scoring 18 goals and 23 assists in international play. On March 6th, 1988, the Flames traded him with Peter Bakovic and Kevan Guay for Craig Coxe to the Vancouver Canucks.

Bradley spent parts of four seasons in Vancouver (193 games, 51 goals, 81 assists), later playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs (85 games, 10 goals, 32 assists), and the Tampa Bay Lightning (328 games, 111 goals, 189 assists). He retired due to chronic injuries just before the end of 1999.

All-Time Statline: 45 games, 10 goals, 19 assists, minus-3 rating, 16 penalty minutes, 1.82 point shares.

246. Leland Irving

Irving, a 6', 175 lb. goaltender from Swan Lake, Alberta. Born on April 11th, 1988, he spent five seasons in juniors with the WHL's Everett Silvertips (107-62-11, 2.05, .924).

After his third season in Everett, the Flames chose him in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft with the 26th overall pick. He made his professional debut in 2008-09 with the Quad City Flames (24-18-2, .912, 2.23). Before joining Calgary, he also played with the Abbotsford Heat (44-41-4, .910, 2.47) and the Victoria Salmon Kings (2-4-2, .908, 3.06).

In 2011-12, Irving went 22-13-2 with a .902 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against average. He played in seven games for Calgary, earning his first career NHL win on December 23rd by stopping 29-of-30 Vancouver shots in a 3-1 win over the Canucks. It was his only win of the season, which saw him post a 1-3-3 record. With the exception off a 15-for-21 performance in just 24 minutes on January 5th, in a 9-0 loss to the Boston Bruins, he allowed 15 goals on 218 shots, a .931 save percentage.

2012-13 would see Irving go 3-7-2 for Abbotsford, with an .884 save percentage and a 3.41 goals against average. He also joined the Flames for a total of six contests. On February 13th, he stopped 23-off-24 shots but still earned a loss as the Minnesota Wild won, 2-1 in a shootout. Altogether, he went 2-1-1 and stopped 88.3% of shots faced, allowing 3.33 goals over 60 minutes.

Irving joined Jokerit Helsinki for the 2013-14 season (23-18-12, .922, 2.14).

All-Time Statline: 13 games, 3-4-4, 367 shots faced, 331 saves, .902 save percentage, 3.25 goals against average, 1.84 point shares.

by Kevin Kraczkowski