Nation Sites
The Nation Network
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Flames Draft 2026: A history of the 55th overall pick
Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jun 23, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 23, 2026, 01:42 EDT
As it stands, the Calgary Flames have four second-round picks.
We’ve already looked at the history of the other three, but the 55th overall pick, originally owned by the Ottawa Senators, is an interesting one. Unlike the 51st overall pick, it hasn’t produced a Hall of Famer, but on top of a handful of All-Stars, the draft selection has produced a boatload of Stanley Cup champions.
The Flames have only selected 55th overall once in franchise history, all the way back in the 1983 draft. Let’s take a look at how that player’s career turned out, as well as other notable players selected 55th overall.
Perry Berezan, 1983
After three seasons in Calgary, the Flames picked 55th overall for the first time, selecting Alberta native Perry Berezan in 1983. The right-shot centre spent two seasons with the University of North Dakota, before making his debut in 1984-85.
He never played more than 60 games with the Flames, with his career-best season coming in his rookie year, scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 55 games. Over his 152 games with the Flames, the Edmonton product scored 31 goals and 73 points.
Before the 1989 trade deadline, months before the Flames won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, Berezan was traded to the Minnesota North Stars alongside Shane Churla for Brian McLellan and a pick which was used to select Robert Reichel.
Berezan spent parts of three seasons with the North Stars, scoring 15 goals and 37 points in 132 games. His final 94 games were spent with the newly founded San Jose Sharks, scoring 15 goals and 26 points in 94 games, before retiring following the 1992-93 season.
Other notable 55th overall picks
In the draft preceding Berezan’s selection, the Québec Nordiques selected netminder Mario Gosselin 55th overall. The Thetford Mines, Québec product played just 241 games in the National Hockey League, but earned an All-Star nod in 1985-86 despite playing just 31 games.
Another All-Star selected 55th overall happens to be the leading scorer among players selected in the spot. Jason Pominville was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2001, with the forward’s career spanned from 2003-04 until 2018-19, scoring 293 goals and 727 points in 1,060 games. His All-Star nod in 2011-12.
Al MacAdam (1972) was the first All-Star selected 55th overall, playing five regular season games and one post-season game in his rookie campaign in 1973-74. It also happened to be the year the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup. MacAdam represented the California Gold Seals at the 1975-76 All-Star Game and the Cleveland Barons at the 1976-77 All-Star Game. In the end, he scored 240 goals and 591 points in 864 career games, the third-most games, and the second most goals and points for any player selected 55th overall.
The player selected 55th overall with the second-most games played is Antoine Vermette, another Cup winner. Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2000, the forward played 1,046 career games, scoring 228 goals and 515 points, winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.
There’s one other retired player selected 55th overall who has their name on Lord Stanley, Adam McQuaid (2005). The defenceman played 512 games, scoring 16 goals and 73 points in his 10 NHL seasons. McQuaid won the Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson (1978) scored 196 goals and 555 points in 629 games, finishing fourth in goal scoring and third in points among players selected 55th overall. He was never an All-Star, nor did he ever win the Stanley Cup.
Neither did Latvian-born Sergei Zholtok (1992), who scored 111 goals and 258 points in his career. His 111 goals were the sixth-most among players selected 55th overall, while his 258 points were eighth-most. However, he stands second among Latvian-born players in both goals and points.
All other Cup winners are active players. Defenceman Dmirti Orlov (2009) won the Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, and will surely be the third player selected 55th overall to play 1,000 or more games. He played 82 games with the San Jose Sharks last season.
Artturi Lehkonen (2013) won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, and has 165 goals and 336 points in 660 career games. In 2024, Brandon Montour (2014) won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, then signed a long-term deal with the Seattle Kraken. In 665 career games, the right-shot defenceman has 95 goals and 325 points.
His teammate on the Panthers that season was Jonah Gadjovich (2017), who scored two goals and four points in 39 regular season games, though he didn’t appear in a playoff game. The same couldn’t be said the following season, scoring two goals and three points in 16 post-season games, famously fighting Darnell Nurse in Game 3.
Sticking with active players, the lone active player selected 55th overall on the Flames is Kevin Bahl. Last season, the left-shot defenceman scored four goals and 18 points in 76 games, coming off a career-best season in 2024-25 when he scored three goals and 20 points.
While Bahl is the only active player selected 55th to play for the Flames, three other retired players spent some time with the Flames. Mike LeClerc (1995) played 15 games with the Flames in 2005-06, scoring a goal and five points in 15 games.
T.J. Galiardi (2007), scored four goals and 17 points with the Flames in 2013-14, playing one more season in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets before finishing his career in Europe. Additionally, Stefan Meyer (2003) played just 20 NHL games, but 16 of them were played with the Flames in 2010-11, picking up two assists, his two career points.
The 55th overall pick has developed other notable role players as well. Marco Scandella (2008) played 784 career games, scoring 51 goals and 170 points. Jeff Finley (1975) scored 13 goals and 83 points, while Jerry Butler (1971) scored 99 goals and 219 points in 643 games.
There are 15 active players selected 55th overall. Orlov is the last remaining active player drafted 55th overall in the noughties. He also happens to be one of nine players who played an NHL game last season. That obviously applies to Lehkonen, Montour, Gadjovich, and Bahl.
Last season, two players selected 55th overall played for the Minnesota Wild. Filip Gustavsson (2017) served as the team’s 1A last season, posting a .904 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average. He finished sixth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2024-25.
Yakov Trenin (2015) was drafted two years prior, signing with the Wild during the 2024 free agency. Over the past two seasons, the right-shot centre scored 13 goals and 38 points in 158 games.
Vincent Iorio (2021) was drafted by the Capitals, but split his 2025-26 season with the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers. He also served as a stunt double for the show “Off Campus”, which you can read about here. The following draft, the Jets selected Elias Salomonsson 55th overall, with the right-shot defenceman playing 32 games with the Manitoba-based team in 2025-26.
Last season, seven players selected 55th overall played, but not in the NHL. Two of them are veterans, Ryan Sproul (2011) and Chris Tierney (2012). Sproul played in Slovakia and has 44 NHL games under his belt, while Tierney played in Switzerland after 649 career NHL games.
The other active players who didn’t appear in an NHL game last season are Dillon Hamaliuk (2019, ECHL), Cross Hanas (2020, American Hockey League), Martin Mišiak (2023, AHL), Teddy Stiga (2024, NCAA), and Jakob Ihs-Wozniak (2025, Sweden).
Both the 35th and 36th overall pick has seen 37 players participate in an NHL game, which isn’t all that surprising given its proximity to the first round. The 51st overall pick has seen just 30 players make their NHL debut, so it may come as a shock that the 55th overall pick has nearly as many players as the 51st overall pick with triple-digit games played.
On top of that, 38 players have played double-digit games, while 44 players have gone on to play at least one game.
The history of the 55th overall pick is a weird one, as it’s produced just three All-Stars, but no Hall of Famers. Somehow, it’s produced a bunch of role players who’ve gone on to hoist the Cup, while also producing more players to play an NHL game than picks in the mid-30s.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
PRESENTED BY THE FLAMESNATION NEWSLETTER
Never miss what matters in the game. From lineup changes to breaking trades and must-read analysis, FlamesNation delivers the insight serious hockey fans rely on—straight to your inbox. Sign up for the FlamesNation newsletter!
Breaking News
- Flames Draft 2026: A history of the 55th overall pick
- Can the Flames find a fifth-round gem again at the 2026 NHL Draft?
- Latest Daily Faceoff mock draft sees Flames select Viggo Björck and Maddox Dagenais in the first round
- The 10 best Canadian draft picks in Calgary Flames history
- Hurricanes’ 2022 trade offer for Matthew Tkachuk included Martin Necas, Alexander Nikishin and more: Friedman