In the history of the Flames franchise, 606 players have tugged a red sweater over their heads and suited up for a regular season game. Of those, 22 played just a single game for either the Calgary or Atlanta Flames. We call them One Game Wonders.

Let’s talk about another One Game Wonder, Paxton Schulte.

Schulte’s hockey journey is fascinating. Originally from Onoway, Alberta – just outside Edmonton – he played in the AJHL and went to college at the University of North Dakota. Well, for a year. He left school after his freshman campaign and joined the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. He came an offensive leader for Spokane, erasing some doubts about his future at the next level. He was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the sixth round of the 1992 NHL Draft.

Going pro in 1993-94, Schulte spent most of the season with the AHL’s Cornwall Aces. He made his NHL debut with Quebec just after Christmas and had zero points, then went back to the Aces. After another season and a half of solid if unspectacular AHL work he was traded by the now-Colorado Avalanche to the Flames for forward Vesa Viitakoski.

Schulte was for the Flames what he was with Quebec/Colorado: a solid secondary AHL offensive threat. He produced at just shy of a 0.5 point-per-game pace for two seasons. He got a shot with the Flames midway through the 1996-97 season, suiting up in a 2-2 tie with the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 24. He was plus-1 with a shot on goal and a goalie interference minor. He was swiftly sent back to Saint John. The following season he also spent time with the IHL’s Las Vegas Thunder before leaving the Flames organization that summer.

Seeking something different, Schulte went to Europe. And not mainland Europe: the United Kingdom, where he played six seasons with the British Hockey League (two with Bracknell and four with Belfast). Then he came back to North America where he spent two seasons with the Chinook League’s Stony Plain Eagles and one split between the Central League’s Amarillo Gorillas and Tulsa Oilers before hanging up his skates in 2007.

Schulte was a damn fine junior player, but just couldn’t progress enough at the minor pro level to get more than a cup of coffee in the bigs.