One Game Wonders: Robin Bartel

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, defender Robin Bartel.

Originally from Saskatchewan, Bartel joined the Prince Albert Raiders of the SJHL as a teen. He wasn’t drafted by an NHL team, so he went to the University of Saskatchewan for a year and then joined the Canadian National Team for the following season – he played in the 1984 Winter Olympics.

After the Olympics – Canada finished fourth – Bartel played in Switzerland for a bit and then signed with the Flames, joining their AHL team in Moncton. (The Flames frequently used the Calgary-based national program as a free agent pool, signing Kevin Dahl, Todd Hlushko and Fred Brathwaite from there.) He made his NHL debut the following season, on Apr. 6, 1986, going minus-1 with zero points in a 6-4 win over Winnipeg. He played six games in the playoffs that year, including suiting up in three Stanley Cup Final games against Montreal (all losses).

Bartel didn’t re-sign with the Flames – their blueline to begin 1986-87 included Al MacInnis, Paul Reinhart, Jamie Macoun, Gary Suter and Neil Sheehy so there wasn’t a lot of NHL time to be had – and landed with Vancouver. He played 40 games for the Canucks and registered one point. He spent the next season primarily with the Canucks’ AHL team in Fredericton and then went adrift a bit.

After his NHL runs, Bartel spent time in the AHL (Moncton), the IHL (Milwaukee), England (Medway) and had another stint with the Canadian National Team before retiring in 1990. He played two games during a brief stint with the AHL’s St. John’s Maple Leafs in 1993-94, then went back into retirement for good.

Bartel was a heck of a junior player and a very reliable minor league (and national team) player, but just couldn’t carve out a gig in the NHL.