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All-Time Florida Panthers Roster Countdown: 244-240

Today, we look at Eric Beaudoin, Alex Hicks, Ty Jones, Rocky Thompson, and Pokey Reddick.

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244. Eric Beaudoin

Beaudoin was a 6'5" left winger from Ottawa with the OHL Guelph Storm when drafted in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 92nd overall. After the three seasons with the Storm, ending in 1999-00, Beaudoin had scored 75 goals and 90 assists in 196 games, earning 248 PIM.

In 2000-01, Beaudoin opened the season with Florida's AHL affiliate, the Louisville Panthers. He tallied 15 goals and 10 assists in 71 games. Florida's AHL affiliation in 2001-02 was the Utah Grizzlies, and after 44 games with the club, Beaudoin got his first NHL callup in March. In eight games, he totalled three assists and a minus-2 rating with four penalty minutes. He also scored his first NHL goal, a game winner on April 3rd in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2002-03 would see Florida's AHL affiliate again change, this time to the San Antonio Rampage. Beaudoin scored 14 goals with 23 assists in 41 games with the club. In three separate callups to the Panthers, he totalled 15 games, scoring one assist with 25 PIM and a minus-7 rating.

After starting the 2003-04 season with the Rampage, and scoring 20 goals and 22 assists in 38 games, Beaudoin was called up to Florida in mid-January. He would spend the rest of the season with the club, in 30 games scoring two goals and four assists with a minus-6 rating and 12 penalty minutes.

When the 2004-05 season was cancelled, Beaudoin played 32 games with the Rampage. San Antonio "loaned" him to the Edmonton Roadrunners, where he played 24 games. After the season, he signed a free agent contract with Jokerit Helsinki, spending the next six seasons in Swedish, Swiss and Finnish leagues. Beaudoin most recently signed a contract with the Detroit Red Wings, in February, 2011.

To date, Beaudoin, along with goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, are the only Panthers in history with all five vowels in their last names. Beaudoin's is more impressive, IMO, because he did it with a shorter name.

All-Time Statline: Three seasons, 53 games, three goals, eight assists, 11 points, minus-15 rating, 41 PIM 0.0 APS.

243. Alex Hicks

Hicks was a 6' left winger from Calgary skating with the IHL Las Vegas Thunder when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim signed him to a free agent deal in the 1995 offseason. He made his NHL debut with the Ducks a month into the 1995-96 regular season, after scoring two goals and 10 assists through 13 games with Anaheim's AHL affiliate, the Baltimore Bandits.

Hicks performed pretty well in his NHL debut, scoring two goals on four shots with an assist in a 7-3 Anaheim victory over the Colorado Avalanche on November 15th. It was one of three two goal games from Hicks during his rookie season. He finished up with 10 goals and 11 assists, a plus-11 rating and 37 PIM in 64 NHL games.

After scoring two goals with six assists through the first 18 games of the 1996-97 season, the Ducks traded Hicks, along with Fredrik Olausson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Shawn Antoski and Dmitri Mironov. Hicks played 55 games with the Penguins, scoring five goals and 15 assists.

Hicks would remain with Pittsburgh through the 1997-98 season, scoring seven goals and 13 assists in 58 games. He was not resigned by the Penguins after the season, instead signing a free agent contract with the San Jose Sharks.

In 1998-99, Hicks played only four games with the Sharks, logging one assist before the team shipped him, along with a fifth round draft choice, off to Florida for Jeff Norton. As a new Panther, Hicks played 51 games, not scoring any goals on 47 shots. He collected six assists and a minus-4 rating, along with 58 PIM.

Hicks was injured for most of the 1999-00 campaign, rehabbing for 17 games with the AHL Louisville Panthers, scoring six goals and five assists in 17 games. He was recalled to Florida for the stretch run, playing the final eight games of the season with the club. He scored one goal and two assists over eight games, tacking on another assist through four playoff games.

Starting in 2000-01, Hicks joined the German League, playing first for EHC Eisbaren Berlin, then later with Kolner Haie.

All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 59 games, one goal, eight assists, nine points, minus-1 rating, 62 PIM, APS: 0.0

242. Ty Jones

Jones was a highly regarded 6'3" right winger from Richland, Washington, with early comparisms to Keith Tkachuk. He was in his second season with the WHL Spokane Chiefs when his name was called in the first round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, with the 16th overall pick. He would play with the Chiefs for another season.

Jones opened the 1998-99 season on the Chicago roster, not scoring through eight games. It would be a long road back to the NHL. Sent back to the Spokane Chiefs, he played 26 games before getting traded to the WHL Kamloops Blazers. In four total WHL season, Jones totalled 75 goals and 110 assists in 207 games.

Jones spent the next four seasons with the IHL Cleveland Lumberjacks (10 games), the ECHL Florida Everblades (48 games), the AHL Norfolk Admirals (119 games), and the WCHL Anchorage Aces (12 games).

In 2003-04, Jones opened the season with the Admirals, scoring four goals and five assists through 37 contests. Chicago traded him to the Panthers on March 2nd for "future considerations." After two games with the AHL San Antonio Rampage, he was called up for a look in Florida. He did not score through six games, earning seven PIM with an even rating over 30 shifts. Jones retired following the season. He is regarded by many as one of the biggest busts in NHL Draft History.

All-Time Statline: One season, six games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, even rating, seven PIM, 0.0 APS.

241. Rocky Thompson

Thompson was a 6'2" defenseman from Calgary with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers when drafted in the third round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames with the 72nd overall pick. In three total seasons with the Tigers, Thompson scored 11 goals with 30 assists, and 646 penalty minutes in 202 games.

After earning 33 penalty minutes in only four games with the St. John Flames at the end of the 1995-96 campaign, Thompson would split the following season between two WHL franchises, the Tigers and the Swift Current Broncos, scoring 23 points and earning 260 penalty minutes in 69 collective games.

In 1997-98, Thompson spent most of the season with the AHL Flames, 51 games. He earned two callups to Calgary, in 12 games he had seven fights for 61 penalty minutes. He did not score, and finished with an even rating.

Slowed by injury in 1998-99, Thompson appeared in 27 games with St. John. In a January callup to Calgary, he earned 25 penalty minutes in only six minutes of ice-time over three games.

Thompson opened the 1999-00 season with the AHL Flames, scoring 10 points with 125 PIM in 53 games. Calgary traded him to the Panthers for Filip Kuba on March 16th, and Thompson finished the season with the Louisville Panthers, earning an incredible 54 penalty minutes in only three games.

Thompson played 55 games in 2000-01 with Louisville, playing four games with the NHL Panthers in March. In six minutes of ice time he earned 19 penalty minutes, and did not score.

2001-02 would see Thompson spend the bulk of the season with the AHL Hershey Bears, earning another March callup to Florida. Over six games he took one shot on goal in 24 minutes of ice time, spending 12 minutes in the box. It was the last time Thompson would see NHL action.

Jim McKenzie vs Rocky Thompson (via pjstock20)


Thompson spent five more seasons in the AHL, with the San Antonio Rampage, the Toronto Roadrunners, the Edmonton Roadrunners, and the Peoria Rivermen. He earned 1,919 penalty minutes in 566 career AHL games, scoring 17 goals and 52 assists.

Thompson joined the coaching ranks after retiring following the 2006-07 season, with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He is currently an assistant with the Oklahoma City Barons.

All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 10 games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, even rating, 31 PIM, 0.0 APS.

240. Pokey Reddick

Reddick was a 5'8" 170 lb. goaltender from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was tending for the IHL Fort Wayne Komets in 1985-86 when signed to a free agent contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

Reddick stepped right in as the Jets number one goalie, posting a 21-21-4 record over 48 games in 1986-87, with an .881 save percentage and a 3.24 GAA. Over three seasons with Winnipeg he put up a 41-51-14 record with a 3.73 GAA and a .873 save percentage.

During the 1989 offseason, Reddick was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for future considerations. He played in 13 games for Edmonton over the next two seasons, posting a 5-6-2 record with an .883 save percentage and a 3.31 GAA.

In 1991-92 and 1992-93, Reddick posted a 44-24-9 AHL record between the Fort Wayne Komets and the Cape Breton Oilers. He signed a free agent contract with the Panthers during the 1993 offseason. He played most of the season with the Cincinnati Cyclones, posting a 3.05 GAA and a 31-12-6 record. He was called up to the Panthers in February to cover as Florida's number two goaltender while John Vanbiesbrouck recovered from a slight injury. In two games he posted a 0-1-0 record with a 6.00 GAA and an .822 save percentage.

Reddick spent the next five seasons in the IHL, with the Las Vegas Thunder, the Grand Rapids Griffins, the San Antonio Dragons, the Kansas City Blades and the Fort Wayne Komets. In 1999-00 he joined the Frankfurt Lions in Germany for three seasons before retiring. He is the NHL's record holder for most games goaltended without a shutout, with 132.

All-Time Statline: One season, two games, 80 minutes of ice time, 0-1-0 record, eight goals allowed, 37 saves, 45 shots faced, .822 save percentage, 6.00 GAA.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.