Welcome to the ninth edition of the LBC’c all-time Florida Panthers Countdown. For a quick and dirty explanation as to how this list came to fruition, click here.
Yesterday, we looked at RW Lee Goren, LW Eric Messier, LW Steve MacIntyre, C Nick Smith, and C Matt Herr. Today, the details on two right wingers, two centers, and a left wing. Today also marks the emergence of players who did not finish with a negative career adjusted point share, with number 245 coming in with an APS of 0.0.
249. Doug Barrault
Barrault was a 6’2″ right winger from Golden, British Columbia, skating with the WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes when selected by the Minnesota North Stars in the eighth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, 155th overall.
After selection, Barrault finished another season in the WHL, with the Seattle Thunderbirds. In three WHL seasons overall, he scored 72 goals with 73 assists in 176 games. Beginning with the 1991-92 season, he reported to the North Stars IHL franchise, the Kalamazoo Wings.
In two seasons with Kalamazoo, Barrault totalled 37 goals and 48 assists in 138 games. He received his first call-up for NHL action in a December matchup against the Ottawa Senators (a 3-1 victory), and a second for a January matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (Barrault went minus-1 in a 2-2 tie).
Barrault officially joined the North Stars for the move to Dallas in the 1993 offseason (on June 9th), but left unprotected in the Expansion Draft, was selected by Florida just 15 days later.
For the 1993-94 season, Barrault joined the Panthers IHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones, scoring 36 goals with 28 assists in 75 games. He earned a two-game NHL callup in February, not scoring while posting a minus-2 rating, with two shots on goal. Florida lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 7-3, then the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1. Barrault was sent back to Cincinnati, where he spent the entire 1994-95 season, scoring 20 goals and 40 assists in 74 games.
Barrault played three more seasons afterwards in the IHL with the Atlanta Knights and the Chicago Wolves, never again appearing in an NHL game.
All-Time Statline: One season, two games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, minus-2 rating, zero PIM, -0.1 APS.
248. Hugh Jessiman
Jessiman is a 6’6″ behemoth right winger from New York City, skating with the Dartmouth Big Green. Aptly, he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, with the 12th overall pick. Over three seasons in Dartmouth ending in 2004-05, Jessiman scored 40 goals and 42 assists in 80 games.
Starting in 2005-06, Jessiman languished between the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack and the ECHL Charlotte Checkers for three seasons. He scored 25 goals and 20 assists with 108 PIM in 45 games for the Checkers, also collecting 32 goals and 42 assists with 299 PIM in 166 games with Hartford.
After six games with the Wolf Pack in 2008-09, Jessiman was traded to the Nashville Predators. Over the next two seasons, he played with Nashville’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, totalling 40 goals and 29 assists with 211 PIM in 141 games played.
Jessiman signed on as a free agent with the Chicago Black Hawks just prior to the 2010-11 season. After 25 games with the AHL Rockford IceHogs, he was traded to the Panthers along with Jack Skille for David Pacan and Michael Frolik. He played 25 games with the Rochester Americans, earning his first call-up eight seasons after getting drafted. He played 20 shifts over two games with the Panthers, finishing with a minus-1 rating and five PIM from a memorable fight with the Carolina Hurricanes Troy Bodie.
Jessiman is currently playing with the AHL Lake Erie Monsters, affilate of the Colorado Avalanche.
All-Time Statline: One season, two games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, minus-1 rating, five PIM, -0.1 APS.
Hugh Jessiman vs Troy Bodie Mar 1, 2011 (via hockeyfightsdotcom)
247. David Emma
Emma was a 5’10” center from Cranston, Rhode Island when drafted out of Boston College in the sixth round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, 110th overall. For the Eagles, the Class of 1991 product scored 112 goals and 127 assists in 147 games over four seasons, winning the 1991 Hobey Baker Award. Concurrently with his BC responsibilities, he was also part of the US National Team parts of five seasons, from 1987-88 through 1991-92 playing in 85 games and scoring 22 goals with 19 assists.
In 1991-92, Emma joined the AHL Utica Devils, scoring four goals and seven assists in his 15 game professional debut. He spent the balance of the 1992-93 season in Utica, scoring a point per game over 61 games. He earned his first NHL action in November, as the Devils lost twice to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Emma did not score, taking two shots on goal.
Emma joined the AHL Albany River Rats in 1993-94, scoring 55 points in 56 games. He performed well in an extended 15-game callup to the Devils in December and January, totalling five goals (two game winners) and five assists.
1994-95 would see Emma skate with the Devils for six games, collecting one assist and a minus-2 rating. After scoring 30 goals with 32 assists with the IHL Detroit Vipers in 1995-96, he would sign as a free agent with the Boston Bruins.
Emma spent the balance of the 1996-97 season with the AHL Providence Bruins, earning an unproductive five game look with Boston. He signed for the next three seasons with the Austrian team, Klagenfurter AC.
On August 1, 2000, Emma signed a free agent contract with Florida. He played 55 games with the Louisville Panthers, scoring 50 points. For 71 shifts over six games in November, he filled an NHL roster spot, not scoring while taking six shots on goal, and finishing with a minus-1 rating. The Panthers traded him to the Washington Capitals for Remi Moyer on March 3rd, where he finished the season with the Portland Pirates.
After missing the entire 2001-02 season with a back injury, Emma announced his retirement on July 28, 2002.
246. Chris Wells
Wells was a 6’6″ center from Calgary, Alberta. He had just finished his third season with the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds when drafted in the first round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the 24th overall pick. Over four seasons in Seattle, ending in 1994-95, Wells played 265 games, scoring 106 goals and 152 assists with 489 PIM.
Wells spent the entire 1995-96 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring two goals and two assists in 54 games, registering a minus-6 rating with a career high 59 penalty minutes. In 1996-97, after 15 games with the IHL Cleveland Lumberjacks, he was traded to Florida for Stu Barnes and Jason Woolley.
Wells immediately joined the NHL Panthers, skating in 47 contests and scoring two goals and six assists, posting a career high plus-5 rating, and earning 42 minutes in the penalty box. He was a nonfactor in Florida’s 1997 postseason, earning one healthy scratch and a minus-1 rating in three games.
Wells enjoyed the best numbers of his NHL career in 1997-98, over 61 Panthers games he scored five goals and 10 assists with a plus-4 rating and 47 PIM.
In 1998-99, Wells was limited by injury, playing 20 Florida games starting in February. He collected two assists and a minus-4 rating with 31 penalty minutes. He had less of an impact the following season, in 1999-00, over 13 games earning a minus-5 rating with 14 penalty minutes. Florida traded him to the New York Rangers for future considerations on March 13th.
Wells spent the succeeding three seasons in the Rangers minor league system, with the IHL Utah Grizzlies, the AHL Portland Pirates and the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. He split the 2002-03 season between the Russian team, Amur Khabarovsk and the ECHL Peoria Rivermen before calling it quits.
All-Time Statline: Four seasons, 141 games, seven goals, 18 assists, 25 points, even rating, 134 PIM, -0.1 APS.
245. Eric Beaudoin
Beaudoin was a 6’5″ left winger from Ottawa with the OHL Guelph Storm when drafted in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 92nd overall. After the three seasons with the Storm, ending in 1999-00, Beaudoin had scored 75 goals and 90 assists in 196 games, earning 248 PIM.
In 2000-01, Beaudoin opened the season with Florida’s AHL affiliate, the Louisville Panthers. He tallied 15 goals and 10 assists in 71 games. Florida’s AHL affiliation in 2001-02 was the Utah Grizzlies, and after 44 games with the club, Beaudoin got his first NHL callup in March. In eight games, he totalled three assists and a minus-2 rating with four penalty minutes. He also scored his first NHL goal, a game winner on April 3rd in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
2002-03 would see Florida’s AHL affiliate again change, this time to the San Antonio Rampage. Beaudoin scored 14 goals with 23 assists in 41 games with the club. In three separate callups to the Panthers, he totalled 15 games, scoring one assist with 25 PIM and a minus-7 rating.
After starting the 2003-04 season with the Rampage, and scoring 20 goals and 22 assists in 38 games, Beaudoin was called up to Florida in mid-January. He would spend the rest of the season with the club, in 30 games scoring two goals and four assists with a minus-6 rating and 12 penalty minutes.
When the 2004-05 season was cancelled, Beaudoin played 32 games with the Rampage. San Antonio “loaned” him to the Edmonton Roadrunners, where he played 24 games. After the season, he signed a free agent contract with Jokerit Helsinki, spending the next six seasons in Swedish, Swiss and Finnish leagues. Beaudoin most recently signed a contract with the Detroit Red Wings, in February, 2011.
To date, Beaudoin, along with goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, are the only Panthers in history with all five vowels in their last names. Beaudoin’s is more impressive, IMO, because he did it with a shorter name.
All-Time Statline: Three seasons, 53 games, three goals, eight assists, 11 points, minus-15 rating, 41 PIM 0.0 APS.
Let me know if you liked today’s chapter in Panthers history. Tune in tomorrow for five more players, including a sandwich nicknamed recent ex-Panther and the first goaltender on the list.
Who would you like to have seen more of in a Panthers uniform?
| Doug Barrault | 0 |
| Hugh Jessiman | 19 |
| David Emma | 4 |
| Chris Wells | 3 |
| Eric Beaudoin | 9 |