Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter LXXIV: 172-169

172. Clarke Wilm

Wilm, a native of Central Butte, Saskatchewan, was a 5'11", 200 lb. center. Born in 1976 on October 24th, he was a sixth round pick of the Flames in the NHL Entry Draft of 1995, 150th overall.

Wilm got his start with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, and spent four complete seasons with the club starting in 1992-93. He totaled 53 goals and 90 assists with 431 penalty minutes in 210 games through his first three seasons. After getting drafted, he racked up 49 goals and 61 assists over 72 games.

In 1996-97, Wilm made his debut with the Saint John Flames, and played two complete seasons with Calgary’s AHL affiliate. In 130 contests, he scored 22 goals with 45 assists and 219 penalty minutes.

1998-99 would see Wilm begin his first NHL season on the Flames "A" team. He played 11:32 per game and appeared in a total of 78 contests, fourth on the team. He scored 10 goals on 94 shots with eight assists, a team fifth plus-11 rating, and 53 penalty minutes. It took him until the 13th game of the season to score his first point, an assist in a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on November 8th. He scored his first goal 11 days later, in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. To close out the year, he racked up two points each in the last two games of the season. He scored two goals on April 15th in a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche, picking up a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers two nights later.

In 1999-00, Wilm again appeared in 78 games for the Flames, tying for third on the club.  He ranked eighth on the team with 22 points, with 12 assists and 10 goals on 81 shots in 12:38 per game. He totaled a minus-6 rating with a team sixth 67 penalty minutes. On January 2nd, he had a shorthanded goal, an assist, and seven penalty minutes in a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. In a 6-5 loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on February 16th, he again had a marker and a helper.

Wilm led the Flames with 81 games played in 2000-01, playing 14:11 per game. He scored seven times on 85 shots with eight assists, a minus-11 rating, and a team seventh 69 penalty minutes. On December 7th, he scored a goal with an assist in a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators. In the next game two nights later, he lit the lamp twice with an assist in a 7-2 Calgary triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes.

2001-02 would see Wilm play in 66 games for Calgary, and score four goals on 83 shots with a team eighth best 14 assists, a minus-1 rating and 61 penalty minutes in 15 minutes per game. He signed on with the Predators as a free agent following the season.

Wilm played for Nashville (82 games, five goals, 11 assists), later playing with the St. John’s Maple Leafs (116 games, 27 goals, 33 assists, 242 PiM), the Toronto Maple Leafs (70 games, one goal, seven assists, 50 PiM), Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, 95 games, 22 goals, 38 assists, 140 PiM), the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, 106 games, 32 goals, 57 assists, 158 PiM), and the Nuermberg Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers (48 games, 11 goals, 22 assists, 50 PiM) in 2010-11.

All-Time Statline: 303 games, 31 goals, 42 assists, minus-7 rating, 250 penalty minutes, 4.06 point shares.

171. Tim Ecclestone

Ecclestone, born September 24th, 1947 in Toronto, Ontario, was a 5'10", 180 lb. right winger. He was selected in the second round of the 1964 NHL Entry Draft with the ninth overall pick, by the New York Rangers. He joined the Kitchener Rangers for the 1966-67 season, scoring 27 goals and 37 assists in 48 games. New York traded him to the St. Louis Blues after the season, where he played four seasons (230 games, 48 goals, 76 assists). He later played with the Detroit Red Wings (191 games, 40 goals, 80 assists), and the Toronto Maple Leafs (51 games, 10 goals, 15 assists).

On November 2nd, 1974, Ecclestone was traded to the Washington Capitals, who flipped him to the Flames for cash. 1974-75 would see him appear in 62 contests for Atlanta, ranking eighth on the team with 13 goals on 103 shots and ranking sixth with 21 assists. He earned a plus-7 rating and 34 penalty minutes. He tallied four game winning goals over the course of the season, ranking him second on the team behind Curt Bennett.

1975-76 would see Ecclestone appear in 69 contests for the Flames. He ranked ninth on the club with 21 assists, and scored six times on 117 shots. He had a plus-7 rating and 30 penalty minutes for the 35-33-12 Flames, but did not appear in the playoffs.

In 1976-77, Ecclestone played in a career high 78 games, to rank fifth on Atlanta’s roster. He placed third on the team with a plus-10 rating, earned 26 penalty minutes, and scored nine times on 116 shots with 18 assists to his credit. Atlanta’s 34-34-12 record was good enough to squeak them into the playoffs, where Ecclestone earned two assists in three contests against the Los Angeles Kings.

Ecclestone only appeared in 11 contests for the Flames in 1977-78, earning two assists. He played in six games with the Tulsa Oilers, scoring once with three helpers. He stayed on with the Flames after his playing career ended as an assistant coach through the end of the 1979-80 season.

All-Time Statline: 220 games, 28 goals, 62 assists, plus-25 rating, 92 penalty minutes, 4.16 point shares.

170. Brett Hull

Hull was a 5'11", 203 lb. right winger from Belleville, Ontario, and a member of the Class of 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame. Born on August 9th, 1964, he had 90 goals and 60 assists in 90 collegiate matches with the University of Minnesota at Duluth.

Hull got his start with the BCJHL's Penticon Knights, averaging nearly three points per contest over two seasons with the club starting in 1982-83 (107 games, 153 goals, 139 assists). Before going to college, he was selected in the sixth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by Calgary, 117th overall.

Hull made his professional debut with Calgary after the end of the 1985-86 season, appearing in two playoff contests for the Flames. The following season would see him play in 67 games with the Moncton Golden Flames in the AHL, scoring 50 goals with 42 assists. He also scored his first NHL goal (of 741) in a five game callup with the Flames.

1987-88 would mark Hull’s first season of professional hockey spent entirely at the NHL level. He played the first three quarters of the season with the Flames, averaging nearly a point per game with a team-fifth 26 goals on 153 shots along with 24 assists in 52 appearances. He also had a plus-10 rating and only 12 penalty minutes. 11 times while with the Flames he totaled multiple point efforts, including five times where he totaled three or more points. He had 23 points over 13 games from October 20th through November 17th. On October 24th, he scored a goal with three helpers in a win over the Quebec Nordiques, 7-5. On November 15th, he scored his first career hat trick in an 8-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. On January 8th, he scored two goals with two assists as the Flames set down the New York Islanders, 7-4. On January 25th, he repeated the trick with a pair of each in an 11-3 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs. On March 7th, the Flames traded him with Steve Bozek to the St. Louis Blues for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley.

Hull played 11 teams in St. Louis (744 games, 527 goals, 409 assists), later making appearances with the Dallas Stars (218 games, 95 goals, 101 assists), the Detroit Red Wings (245 games, 92 goals, 115 assists), and the Phoenix Coyotes (five games, zero goals, one assist).

All-Time Statline: 57 games, 27 goals, 24 assists, plus-9 rating, 12 penalty minutes, 4.19 point shares.

169. Andrei Nazarov

Born May 22nd, 1974, Nazarov was a 6'5", 230 lb. left winger from Chelyabinsk, Russia. The San Jose Sharks picked him in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft with the 10th overall pick.

Nazarov started out with the Kansas City Blades for parts of three seasons (141 games, 34 goals, 34 assists, 237 PiM). He played parts of five seasons at the NHL level with San Jose (169 games, 23 goals, 28 assists, 490 PiM), later appearing with the Tampa Bay Lightning (40 games, three goals, one assist, 101 PiM). On January 19th, 1999, the Bolts traded him to the Flames for Michael Nylander.

Nazarov earned his first point in his third game with Calgary, an assist in a win over the St. Louis Blues, 4-3. Two games later, he scored his first goal as the Flames tied the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-2. On March 9th, he scored a goal with a helper in a 7-4 win over the Blues. He played in a total of 36 contests through the season, scoring five times on 53 shots with nine assists, a plus-1 rating, and 30 penalty minutes in 14:31 per game.

In 1999-00, Nazarov appeared in 76 contests with a team eighth 10 goals with a team sixth 22 assists. He ranked second on the team with a plus-3 rating, and earned a team fifth 78 penalty minutes in 11:44 per game. He totaled multiple points in a single game on nine dates through the seaosn, including Decmeber 10th, when he scored a goal with an assist in a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

During the 2000 training camp, the Flames traded him with a draft pick (Andrei Taratukhin) to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Jordan Leopold. He played 16 games with the Ducks (one goal, 29 PiM), later appearing with the Boston Bruins (110 games, one goal, six assists, 364 PiM), the Phoenix Coyotes (122 games, 10 goals, five assists, 311 PiM), and the Minnesota Wild (two games, six PiM). He has coached in the KHL over the last six seasons, with Chelyabinsk Traktor (47-53-12), Chekhov Vityaz (32-59-3), Cherepovets Severstal (28-16-8), and Donbass HC (34-18-0).

All-Time Statline: 112 games, 15 goals, 31 assists, plus-4 rating, 108 penalty minutes, 4.22 point shares.