:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34647557/meehan_76-77.0.jpg)
230. Curtis McElhinney
McElhinney is a 6'2, 207 lb. goaltender from London, Ontario. Born on May 23rd, 1983, he went 62-12-8 with a 2.32 goals against average in four seasons of collegiate hockey with Colorado College. The Flames drafted him in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft with the 176th overall selection.
McElhinney joined the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights for two complete seasons beginning in 2005-06, going 44-31-3 with a .915 save percentage and a 2.25 goals against average. In 2007-08, he went 20-18-2, .911, 2.28 for the Quad City Flames. He also made his NHL debut with Calgary, making five appearances (all losses). He went 0-2-0 and made 46-of-51 saves for a .902 save percentage, allowing only two goals per 60 minutes on the ice.
In 2008-09, McElhinney backed up goaltending machine Miikka Kiprusoff (the internet's second most misspelled hockey player) for the entire season. He appeared in 14 games over the course of the season. The first 13 were Calgary losses, although McElhinney didn't really play that badly. He earned his first NHL win in his 19th appearance, stopping 35-of-36 shots in a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on April 11th. He went 1-6-1 with a .889 save percentage and a 3.59 goals against average.
In 2009-10, McElhinney posted a 3-4-0 record backing up Kiprusoff through the first half of the season, with an .885 save percentage and a 3.23 goals against average. On November 4th, he earned a 3-2 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars, stopping 38-of-40 shots. On New Years’ Eve, he shut down the Oilers, stopping their first 21 shots before losing the shutout with 1:21 remaining in the third. He still earned a 2-1 win. On March 3rd, the Flames traded him to the Anaheim Ducks for Vesa Toskala.
After a season and a half with the Ducks (11-10-3, .899, 3.20), McElhinney played with the Ottawa Senators (3-4-0, .917, 2.56), the Phoenix Coyotes (1-0-0, .944, 1.67), the AHL’s Portland Pirates (10-13-0, .907, 3.04), the AHL’s Springfield Falcons (29-16-3, .923, 2.32), and the Columbus Blue Jackets (10-11-1, .909, 2.70).
All-Time Statline: 29 games, 4-12-1, 566 shots faced, 503 saves, .889 save percentage, 3.23 goals against average, 2.19 point shares.
229. Tony Stiles
Stiles was a 5'11", 208 lb. defenseman from Carstairs, Alberta. A four year starter with Michigan Tech, he scored 26 goals with 55 assists for the Spartans before graduating with the Class of 1982.
Born on August 12th, 1959, Stiles joined the Colorado Flames for the 1982-83 season, scoring two goals and seven assists in 58 games. The following year, he played half of the season with Calgary, scoring twice with seven assists in 30 games. He earned a plus-14 rating and spent 20 minutes in the penalty box. The other half of the year would see him back in Colorado (39 games, three goals, 18 assists).
Stiles spent two more seasons in the Flames’ organization, playing 99 games with the Moncton Golden Flames (99 games, five goals, 11 assists, 64 PiM). He also played with Team Canada (144 games, five goals, 27 assists), the Fredericton Express (nine games, zero goals, one assist), and Bad Toelz (Germany, 70 games, 31 goals, 56 assists, 80 PiM).
All-Time Statline: 30 games, two goals, seven assists, plus-14 rating, 20 penalty minutes, 2.26 point shares.
228. Noel Picard
Born on Christmas Day, 1938, Picard was a native of Montreal, Quebec. A 6'1", 210 lb. defenseman, he played 59 games for the Omaha Knights in 1963-64, scoring four times with 25 assists.
In 1964-65, Picard scored 13 times with 23 helpers and 142 penalty minutes in 50 games. He also earned seven assists in 16 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens. He also played with the Houston Apollos (58 games, three goals, 15 assists, 186 PiM), the Providence Reds (nine games, zero goals, three assists, 17 PiM), the Seattle Totems (63 games, three goals, 24 assists, 135 PiM), and the St. Louis Blues (278 games, 12 goals, 46 assists, 540 PiM).
On November 25th, 1972, when the Atlanta Flames were brand new, the Blues waived Picard, and Atlanta picked him up. He went scoreless on 37 shots over 41 contests for the Flames, with 10 assists, a minus-6 rating and 43 penalty minutes.
All-Time Statline: 41 games, zero goals, 10 assists, minus-6 rating, 43 penalty minutes, 2.36 point shares.
227. Gerry Meehan
Meehan, born on September 3rd, 1946, is a native of Toronto, Ontario. A 6'2", 200 lb. left winger, he played 163 games for the Toronto Marlies starting in 1963-64. He scored 67 goals with 101 assists while with the junior level club.
Before getting traded to the Atlanta Flames in 1975, Meehan would appear with the Tulsa Oilers (70 games, 31 goals, 41 assists), the Toronto Maple Leafs (25 games, two assists), the Philadelphia Flyers (12 games, three assists), the Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL, 17 games, six goals, six assists), the Seattle Totems (67 games, 23 goals, 30 assists), the Buffalo Sabres (306 games, 94 goals, 114 assists), and the Vancouver Canucks (57 games, 10 goals, 15 assists).
Vancouver traded Meehan to the Flames for Bob J. Murray on March 9th, 1975. In 14 games to close out the 1974-75 season, he scored four goals on 29 shots with 10 assists. He had a plus-2 rating and earned exactly zero penalties.
In 1975-76, Meehan played 48 games with Atlanta, scoring seven goals on 71 shots with 20 assists, a minus-1 rating and eight penalty minutes. On January 22nd, the Flames traded him to the Washington Capitals with Jean Lemieux and a draft choice (Greg Carroll) for Bill Clement.
Meehan played for the Capitals for four seasons (208 games, 65 goals, 79 assists). After two games with the Cincinnati Stingers in 1978-79, he retired from the game as a player. He rejoined the Sabres as an assistant general manager, the general manager, and the executive vice president of sports operations.
All-Time Statline: 62 games, 11 goals, 30 assists, plus-1 rating, eight penalty minutes, 2.37 point shares.
226. Darcy Rota
Rota was a first round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft, 13th overall. Born on February 16th, 1953, he was a Vancouver, British Columbia native.
A 5'11", 180 lb. left winger, Rota played three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WCHL, scoring 167 goals and 149 assists in 199 contests. He joined Chicago for his first six NHL seasons (448 games, 117 games, 110 assists, 450 PiM). On March 13th, 1979, the Blackhawks traded Rota with Ivan Boldirev and Phil Russell to the Flames for Tom Lysiak, Pat Ribble, Harold Phillipoff, Greg Fox, and Miles Zaharko.
Rota played 13 games for the Flames to close out 1978-79, scoring nine goals on 27 shots with five assists, a plus-3 rating and 21 penalty minutes. In two playoff contests, he earned one assist and 26 penalty minutes.
In 1979-80, Rota played 44 times for the Flames. He scored 10 goal on 70 shots with eight assists, a plus-3 rating and 49 penalty minutes. On February 8th, the Flames traded him to Ivan Boldirev to the Vancouver Canucks for Don Lever and Brad Smith. He retired after five seasons in Vancouver (289 games, 120 goals, 116 assists, 453 penalty minutes).
All-Time Statline: 57 games, 19 goals, 13 assists, plus-6 rating, 70 penalty minutes, 2.47 point shares.