In the 102-year history of the National Hockey League, 348 individuals have played 1,000 or more regular season games. 44 of them, or 12.6%, have played some part of their career with the Atlanta or Calgary Flames. We call these players Long-Timers.
Let’s take a look at Phil Russell.
A product of Edmonton, Alberta, Russell played his junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings and was a first round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1972 NHL Draft.
He went pro the following season and played for Chicago from 1972 to 1979. He was a rock-solid two-way defender with offensive upside.