Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XCII: 105-103

105. Pat Ribble

Ribble was a 6'4", 210 lb. defenseman from Leamington, Ontario. Born on April 26th, 1954, he was selected in the fourth round of the 1974 NHL Entry Draft by the Flames with the 58th overall pick. He was also chosen in the fifth round of the WHA Amateur Draft by the Indianapolis Racers, 62nd overall.

Ribble first gained notice in 1972-73 while playing in the OHA with the Oshawa Generals. In two seasons with the club, he scored 19 times with 43 assists and 244 penalty minutes. After his selection, he spent his first professional season with the CHL’s Omaha Knights (77 games, five goals, 17 assists, 164 PiM).

In 1975-76, Ribble played 73 games with the Tulsa Oilers with Atlanta’s AHL affiliate, scoring three goals with 22 assists and 98 PiM. In a short three game callup to the Flames, he did not impact the scoresheet, and earned an even rating. The Flames posted a 35-33-12 record before losing in two games to the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.

1976-77 would see Ribble play less time in Tulsa and more time in Atlanta. He had nine goals, 20 assists, and 140 penalty minutes in 51 games for the Oilers, and two goals (on 31 shots) with two assists and 31 penalty minutes in 23 contests for the Flames. Atlanta finished the year at 34-34-12, but again lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Kings. Atlanta lost in three. Ribble played in two of them, earning six penalty minutes.

Ribble played in a career high 80 games for the Flames in 1977-78, scoring five goals on 106 shots with a dozen assists, a plus-4 rating, and a team-fourth 68 penalty minutes. Atlanta posted a 34-27-19 record, but dropped out of the first round of the postseason in two games to the Detroit Red Wings. Ribble added one assist, appearing in both games.

In 1978-79, Ribble appeared in 66 games with Atlanta, scoring five goals (on 70 shots) and 16 of his career high 19 assists for the team, with a team-eighth plus-18 rating and a team-sixth 69 penalty minutes. The Flames traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 13th with Tom Lysiak, Harold Phillipoff, Greg Fox, and Miles Zaharko for Ivan Boldirev, Phil Russell, and Darcy Rota.

Ribble played with Chicago (35 games, two goals, five assists), the Toronto Maple Leafs (13 games, zero goals, two assists), and the Washington Capitals (98 games, five goals, 22 assists). On November 25th, 1981, the Caps sent him back to the Flames (now in Calgary) with a draft choice (Todd Francis) for Randy Holt and Bobby Gould. Ribble appeared in three contests for the 29-34-17 Calgary club.

Ribble made 28 appearances for Calgary in 1982-83, going scoreless on 14 shots with a single assist, a minus-12 rating, and 18 penalty minutes. The Flames went 32-34-14, to finish second in the Smythe Division. Calgary defeated the Vancouver Canucks in four games before losing in seven to the Edmonton Oilers.

All-Time Statline: 203 games, 12 goals, 31 assists, plus-11 rating, 188 penalty minutes, 9.65 point shares.

104. Mikael Backlund

Backlund is a 6', 196 lb. center. Born on St. Patrick’s Day, 1989 in Vasteras, Sweden, he got his first look with his hometown club in the Swedish First Division, scoring 16 times with 12 helpers in 84 games over four seasons. The Flames selected him in the first round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft with the 24th overall choice.

Backlund joined the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets in 2008-09 for 28 games, scoring 12 goals and 18 assists. He also made his NHL debut on January 8th with Calgary, skating for 11 minutes and taking a single shot on goal as the Flames defeated the New York Islanders, 5-2. Calgary went 46-30-6, earning a first round berth against the Chicago Blackhawks, which the Flames lost in six games.

In 2009-10, Backlund played two-thirds of the season with the Abbotsford Heat, lighting the lamp 15 times while dishing out 17 helpers in 54 contests. He scored his first NHL goal on January 28th, in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. On March 19th, he distributed two assists in a 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks. Backlund totaled one goal on 47 shots with nine assists, a team-sixth plus-5 rating, and six penalty minutes in 12:36 per game. Calgary finished the season at 40-32-10.

2010-11 would see Backlund spend 73 games with Calgary, and average 12:05 per contest. He scored 10 goals on 144 shots with 15 assists, a plus-4 rating and 18 penalty minutes. In a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on October 21st, he scored two markers on six shots. On February 3rd, he tallied the game winner with just under six minutes remaining, as the Flames put down the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-2. On April 6th, he dished out a season high three assists in a 6-1 triumph over the Edmonton Oilers. The Flames finished the campaign with a perfectly respectable 41-29-12 record.

Backlund missed half the season in 2011-12 after suffering a broken finger in training camp and sustaining a shoulder injury in a scuffle with the Vancouver Canucks in March. In 41 contests, he managed to collect four goals on 85 shots with seven assists, a minus-13 rating and 16 penalty minutes in 15:23 per game. On December 23rd, he netted the game winner with less than six minutes left in the game in a 3-1 win over the Canucks. On January 10th, he collected a pair of assists in a 6-3 victory against the New Jersey Devils. Calgary stumbled to a 37-29-16 record.

When the first part of the 2012-13 season was cancelled, Backlund decided to suit up for his old club in Vasteras, where he scored 12 goals and 18 assists in just 23 games. When the NHL season finally got underway, he seemed to have recovered certain intangibles, and averaged a half point-per-game through the remainder of the season. He totaled eight goals on 88 shots with eight assists, a minus-6 rating, and 29 penalty minutes in 15:07 per contest. He earned two assists in a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on April 12th. The Flames finished at 19-25-4.

2013-14 would see Backlund set career highs in most offensive categories. He ranked fifth on the team with 76 games, playing for 18:32 per contest. He had 18 goals (team third) on 178 shots with 21 assists (team fifth), a plus-4 rating (team third), and 32 penalty minutes. He totaled multiple points nine times over the course of the season. On  March 12th, he scored two goals and an assist in a 7-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks. The team went 35-40-7. This coming season will see him playing in the second season of a two-year, $3,000,000 contract.

All-Time Statline: 246 games, 41 goals, 60 assists, minus-6 rating, 101 penalty minutes, 9.77 point shares.

103. Dean McAmmond

McAmmond was a 5'11", 189 lb. left winger from Grand Cache, Alberta. Born on June 15th, 1973, he initially played two seasons in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders, scoring 44 goals and 46 assists in 124 contests. The Chicago Blackhawks chose him in the first round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, with the 22nd overall selection. After earning two assists in five games with Chicago, he rejoined Prince Albert for most of the next two seasons (93 games, 56 goals, 83 assists). He closed out his career in juniors with the Swift Current Broncos near the end of the 1992-93 season (18 games, 10 goals, 13 assists).

After a trade, McAmmond resurfaced in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers (303 games, 61 goals, 100 assists), also playing with the Chicago Blackhawks (154 games, 25 goals, 40 assists) and the Philadelphia Flyers (10 games, one goal, one assist). The Flyers traded him to the Flames just after the end of the 2000-01 season for a draft choice (Rosario Ruggeri).

In 2001-02, McAmmond scored a career high and team-third 21 goals on 155 shots for the Flames. He played 18:56 per game over a team-eighth 73 games, with 30 assists (team third), a plus-2 rating (team eighth), and 60 penalty minutes. He had more than one point in 10 games through the season, including October 20th, when he scored the game winning goal in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. On March 30th, he scored an assist and the game winning goal in a 5-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings. In the Flames next game, he scored twice, also including the game winner in a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. His four total game winners ranked him second on the 32-35-12-3 Flames.

The Flames traded him to the Colorado Avalanche on October 1st, 2002 with Derek Morris and Jeff Shantz for Chris Drury and Stephane Yelle.

McAmmond played just one season with the Avs (41 games, 10 goals, eight assists). Colorado traded him back to Calgary on March 11th, 2003 for a draft pick (Mark McCutcheon).

2003-04 would see McAmmond play 64 games for the Flames. He ranked third on the club with 17 goals on 139 shots, with 13 assists, a plus-9 rating (Flames sixth), 18 penalty minutes, and a team third five game winning markers. On November 12th, he scored twice, including the deciding goal in a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. On February 1st, he scored a goal and two assists in a 6-4 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Calgary posted a record of 42-30-7-3, and defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games, the Detroit Red Wings in six, and the San Jose Sharks in six before losing in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After the NHL resumed play in 2005-06, McAmmond joined the Ottawa Senators (193 games, 26 goals, 32 assists), the New York Islanders (18 games, two goals, seven assists), and the New Jersey Devils (62 games, eight goals, nine assists).

All-Time Statline: 137 games, 38 goals, 43 assists, plus-11 rating, 78 penalty minutes, 9.81 point shares.