Thanks for joining us back at Litter Box Cats for the 16th installment of “Meet the Panthers!” For a quick rundown on how the hits just keep on coming, click here.
Yesterday, we checked out LW Andrej Podkonicky, D Alexander Sulzer, D Stephane Richer, RW Jamie Leach, and LW Ryan Jardine. Today, we’ll hit up two defensemen, a right winger, a center and a left winger..
Click through, unless you’ve got something better to do…
214. Jamie Allison
Allison was a 6’1″ defenseman from Lindsay, Ontario. He was manning the blueline for the OHL Detroit Jr. Red Wings when selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft with the 44th overall pick. He would play two more seasons with the Junior Wings, totalling three goals and 49 assists over 151 OHL games ending in 1994-95. He was called up for his NHL debut in January of 1995 as the Flames dropped a 5-1 decision to, ironically, the Detroit Red Wings.
Allison spent the entire 1995-96 season with the AHL Saint John Flames, scoring 19 points in 71 contests, and racking up 223 penalty minutes, one of three players on the roster to collect over 200 minutes in the sin bin.
In 1996-97, Allison spent 46 games with Saint John, joining Calgary for a total of 20 games through four callups. He didn’t score, ending the season with a minus-4 rating and 35 penalty minutes. He played most of 1997-98 with Calgary, scoring his first NHL points with three goals and eight assists through 43 contests, along with 104 penalty minutes.
After opening the 1998-99 season back in Saint John, Allison was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks with Marty McInnis and Erik Andersson for Jeff Shantz and Steve Dubinsky in October. Three seasons in Chicago would see Allison score four goals and eight assists in 142 games, totalling 217 penalty minutes.
Calgary would reclaim Allison from Chicago in the 2001 Waiver Draft. After 37 games in Calgary, he would be traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Blake Sloan. In parts of two seasons in Columbus, Allison would skate in 55 contests, collecting one assist and a minus-19 rating and 127 PIM.
Just before the 2003-04 season, Allison signed a free agent deal with the Nashville Predators. He would skate in 67 games over the following two seasons (covering three calendar years), scoring four assists and 121 Predator penalty minutes. Nashville waived him on February 13, 2006, where Florida plucked him off the wire.
It was a long, labored road that saw Allison make his hockey odyssey that ended with the Panthers, but his NHL career ended with a fizzle instead of a bang, in seven Panther games he skated for 83 minutes and took four shots on goal, earning 11 penalty minutes. After the season, he signed on with the Ottawa Senators, but would never again play in the NHL, instead spending the 2006-07 season with the AHL Binghampton Senators.
Allison is currently an assistant coach for the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League.
All-Time Statline: One season, seven games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, even rating, 11 PIM, 0.1 APS.
213. Anthony Stewart
Stewart was a 6’3″ right winger from LaSalle, Quebec. He was playing for the OHL Kingston Frontenacs when Florida selected him in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 25th overall pick. He would play two more seasons in Kingston, bringing his four season OHL totals to 118 goals and 120 assists, collected over 248 contests.
When the 2004-05 season was cancelled, Stewart spent most of the season with the Canadian National Team, also appearing in 10 games with the AHL San Antonio Rampage. He would open the 2005-06 season with the Panthers new AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, scoring two goals and three assists in his first four games. The Panthers recalled him soon afterward. He collected an assist in his NHL debut, a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on October 18th. In his next game, he scored his first NHL goal in the first period of a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. His promising season was cut short when he suffered a wrist injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on November 11th, after scoring two goals and one assist through 10 games.
In 2006-07, Stewart scored 13 goals and 14 assists in 62 AHL contests with the Americans, joining the Panthers for 10 more games and finishing the NHL season with one assist. In 2007-08, he again spent the bulk of the season with the Americans, but also appeared in 26 Panthers contests, collecting a lone assist for his troubles.
2008-09 would see Stewart set a new career high with 59 NHL games with Florida. He would enjoy his first career two point game in a November 6th loss to the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2 with a goal and an assist. Ultimately, he finished the season with two goals and five assists.
After the season, the Atlanta Thrashers signed Stewart to a free agent deal. He spent the 2009-10 season with the AHL Chicago Wolves, scoring 12 goals and 19 assists in 77 games.
The Thrashers would reap some of Stewart’s early promise in 2010-11, as he played in 80 NHL games scoring 14 goals and 25 assists. After the season, Stewart signed on with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Last season, Stewart spent the whole season with the Canes, scoring nine goals and 11 assists in 77 games. He is signed with the team through next season.
Does anyone remember this?
Stewart breakaway goal on Cam Ward (via weallbleedredd)
All-Time Statline: Four seasons, 105 games, four goals, eight assists, 12 points, minus-4 rating, 38 PIM, 0.1 APS.
212. Nick Tarnasky
Tarnasky (pictured above) was a 6’2″ center from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. He was skating with the WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes when the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him in the ninth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 287th overall pick. In three WHL seasons ending in 2003-04, he played 150 games with the Hurricanes, the Vancouver Giants, and the Kelowna Rockets, scoring 36 goals and 43 assists.
2004-05 would see Tarnasky spend 80 games with Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons. He earned 176 penalty minutes, along with seven goals and 10 assists.
Tarnasky opened the 2005-06 season in Springfield, but was twice called up to play with Tampa Bay, totalling one assist through 12 games. He would spend the entire 2006-07 and 2007-08 season with the NHL team, finishing with 11 goals and nine assists in 169 games, also earning 162 penalty minutes. The Bolts shipped him off to the Nashville Predators prior to the 2008-09 season for a sixth round draft choice.
After totalling one assist 11 games into the 2008-09 season, Tarnasky was traded to the Panthers for Wade Belak. He scored five assists through 34 games with Florida, also spending 33 minutes in the penalty box. His first Panthers goal came in the last game of the season into an empty net, as Florida defeated the playoff bound Washington Capitals, 7-4.
Aaron Voros vs Nick Tarnasky Apr 3, 2010 (via hockeyfightsdotcom)
While gearing up for the 2009-10 season with the Panthers, Tarnasky suffered an eye injury in the preseason, forcing him to miss a great deal of the season. He would join Florida in December, ultimately scoring a goal and two assists in 31 NHL games, along with 85 penalty minutes.
After 66 games with the Springfield Falcons in 2010-11, Tarnasky signed on with the KHL Chekhov Vityaz, spending the 2011-12 season in Moscow.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 65 games, two goals, seven assists, nine points, minus-7 rating, 118 PIM, 0.1 APS.
211. Esa Tikkanen
Tikkanen was a 6’1″ left winger from Helskini, Finland. He was picked up by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft with the 80th overall pick. After making his NHL debut with the Oilers in the 1984-85 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he would play with the club for eight seasons, playing 522 regular season games, ranking 20th all-time for Edmonton. He ranks eighth on their all-time list with 178 goals and 436 points, ranking 12th with 258 assists. In 114 Stanley Cup contests, he added 51 goals and 46 assists, helping the Oilers to four Stanley Cups. Near the end of the 1992-93 season, he was traded to the New York Rangers for Doug Weight.
TIkkanen won his fifth Stanley Cup as a member of the 1993-94 Rangers. He totalled 98 games over two seasons with New York, scoring 24 goals and 37 assists. The Rangers traded him, along with Doug Lidster, to the St. Louis Blues for Petr Nedved during the 1994 offseason.
Tikkanen played 54 games for the Blues, with 13 goals and 27 assists before again being traded in November 1995, this time to the New Jersey Devils for a third round draft choice. Just three weeks later, he would be sent off to the Vancouver Canucks for a second round draft choice. He scored 25 goals and 39 assists in 100 Vancouver contests. He was shipped back to the Rangers in March, 1997, along with Russ Courtnall, for Sergei Nemchinov and Brian Noonan. He played 14 games during his second tour with the Rangers.
The Panthers signed Tikkanen prior to the 1997 offseason. Over 28 games, he took 34 shots on goal, only scoring once. He also tabbed eight assists and a minus-7 rating with 16 PIM. Florida traded him to the Washington Capitals for Dwayne Hay in March. He would join the Rangers for a third time in 1998-99, playing 32 games. He announced his official retirement after the 2000-01 season, and has since been in coaching overseas, most recently with Jokipojat in Finland
All-Time Statline: One season, 28 games, one goal, eight assists, nine points, minus-7 rating, 16 PIM, 0.1 APS.
210. Chris Allen
Allen was a 6’3″ defenseman from Chatham, Ontario. After finishing his second season with the OHL Kingston Frontenacs, he was chosen in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by Florida with the 60th overall pick. Two more seasons with Kingston brought his OHL career stats to 76 goals and 109 assists in 225 contests.
Allen made his NHL debut with Florida after the 1997-98 OHL season concluded, playing in the final game of the season, a 2-2 tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He skated 20 shifts, taking one shot on goal and earning two penalty minutes.
In 1998-99, Allen scored 35 points in 58 AHL games with the Beast of New Haven. He would again play in the final game of the season with the Panthers, collecting a plus-1 rating in 12 minutes of ice time as the Panthers took a 6-2 victory.
Allen would never again approach the NHL, spending the next several seasons in various levels of the minor leagues. This includes time spent wtih the Louisville Panthers (AHL, 43 games), the Port Huron Border Cats (UHL, 10 games), the Binghampton Icemen (UHL, 25 games), The Greensboro Generals (ECHL, 51 games), the Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL, 11 games) and the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL, 68 games).
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, two games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, plus-1 rating, two PIM,
Thanks for muddling through today’s entry with us. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the Panthers listed from number 209 up through 205. Please comment below, and vote!
Which of these five do you remember in a more positive light than their position in the countdown would indicate.
| Jamie Allison | 3 |
| Chris Allen | 0 |
| Anthony Stewart | 11 |
| Esa Tikkanen | 9 |
| Nick Tarnasky | 21 |