One Game Wonders: Darryl Olsen

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, blueliner Darryl Olsen.

Olsen’s kind of a neat story. A Calgary kid, he played his high-end hockey in the AJHL and was drafted by the Flames in the ninth round in 1985. He headed to college, playing four seasons with the NCAA’s Northern Michigan University Wildcats. Then he went pro, signing with the Flames.

Olsen’s first two seasons in the minors were excellent. In 1989-90, he had 16 goals and 66 points with the IHL’s Salt Lake Golden Eagles – leading the team’s defenders. In 1990-91, he had 15 goals and 55 points – leading Salt Lake’s D again. In 1991-92, he finally got a call-up to the NHL.

With Neil Sheehy briefly out of action, Olsen joined the Flames. He was minus-2 in a 4-3 overtime loss to Detroit. His tenure lasted just the one game, though, as the Flames acquired Trent Yawney from Chicago in time for the next game. The Flames blueline underwent some churn over the rest of the season – Ric Nattress and Jamie Macoun left, Alexander Godynyuk and Michel Petit arrived – but Olsen didn’t get another chance for a call-up. He finished the season in Salt Lake with just seven goals and 40 points.

From there, Olsen spent a year in the Bruins system and then bounced around a bit. Following his NHL apparance, he bounced around minors and Europe for the next seven seasons. He played everywhere: San Diego, Providence, Salt Lake again, Italy, Houston, Austria, England, Phoenix, Germany, Amarillo and Corpus Christi.

He hung up his skates in 2000. His son, Dylan, was in Flames training camp on a PTO in 2017 but didn’t crack the NHL roster. Or AHL roster.