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 Roman Hamrlik.

Hamrlik’s pro hockey journey began as a teenager in a country that no longer exists. He was an excellent teen in scenic Czechoslovakia. He was the first overall pick in the 1992 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He jumped right into the NHL as a fresh-faced 18-year-old and played five pretty good seasons with the Lightning. A power play specialist, he hit double digits three times – including a 65 point season in 1995-96 that saw him finish seventh in Norris Trophy voting.

Eventually, he was traded to Edmonton with Paul Comrie for Bryan Marchment, Steve Kelly and Jason Bonsignore. He spent three seasons with the Oilers and wasn’t quite as impressive as he was in Tampa, but these were the late ’90s Oilers. He was traded to the Islanders for Eric Brewer, Josh Green and second rounder. He spent four seasons on Long Island, hitting double digits in goals twice.

Hamrlik came to Calgary as a free agent after the 2004-05 lockout. He spent most of his time on the power play and was just fine, but was a diminished version of what the Flames hoped they were getting – he wasn’t what he was with the Islanders. From there his career saw him bounce around in free agency, with stops in Montreal (2007-11) and Washington (2011-12) before a waiver claim by the Rangers saw him end his career in Manhattan in 2013.

Hamrlik played in the NHL for two decades. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1998. He may not have been a Norris winner, or even the best blueliner on his team most years, but he was constantly in demand (because he was superb on the power play for much of his career).