Fernie Flaman

Ferdinand Charles Carl "Fernie" Flaman (January 25, 1927 – June 22, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League . He was known as a physical defensive defenceman and a consummate bodychecker. As a coach, Flaman was successful at the collegiate ranks as the head coach of Northeastern University.

Career

After being signed by the Bruins in 1943 and playing three seasons for the minor-league Boston Olympics (during which time he was named to the Eastern Hockey League's First All-Star Team in 1945 and 1946), Flaman made the big club for good in the 1947 season. He played five seasons for Boston before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he won a Stanley Cup the year he was dealt in 1951.

He played three more seasons for Toronto before being dealt back to the Bruins in 1954 (in which he led the league in penalty minutes with 150), for whom he played seven more seasons. Those were his peak years, as he was named Bruins' captain in 1955 (and served as such for the rest of his NHL career), was named to three NHL Second All-Star Teams (1955, 1957 and 1958), and played in multiple All-Star Games (five or six, depending on the source).

In 1961, Flaman was named the player-coach-general manager of the AHL Providence Reds, retiring as an active player after the 1963–1964 season. He coached Providence for one more year after that, coaching teams in the Western Hockey League and the Central Hockey League thereafter. In 1970, Flaman was named the head coach of the Northeastern University Huskies men's college team, and coached for nineteen seasons (the longest tenure in school history), amassing a 256–301–24 record. He was named United States college coach of the year in 1982, earning him the Spencer Penrose Award. He led the Huskies to four Beanpot Tournament championships and a Hockey East championship in 1988. He won the Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award in 1989. He also retired from Northeastern the same year. He carried out the remainder of his career serving as a scout for the Devils.

Flaman finished his NHL career with 34 goals and 174 assists for 208 points in 910 games, and added 1370 penalty minutes. At the time of his retirement, he was third in NHL history in career penalty minutes.

Flaman was inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965, the Northeastern Hall of Fame in 1989, the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011, and the Ted Knight Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. He died in 2012.

In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.

Honours and awards Playing career NHL Second All-Star Team (1955, 1957, 1958) NHL All-Star Game appearances (5 or 6 times: 1951, 1953*, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957) Stanley Cup champion (1951, Toronto Maple Leafs) Captain of the Boston Bruins (1955–1961) Named one of the “100 Greatest Bruins” (2023) Note: The 1953 All-Star game is sometimes excluded from mid-season All-Star counts, as it was played at the start of the season.

Coaching Spencer Penrose Award (1982) Led Northeastern to four Beanpot championships (1980, 1984, 1985, 1988) Led Northeastern to Hockey East championship (1988) Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award (1989)

Halls of fame & institutional recognition Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame (1965) Northeastern Hall of Fame (1989) Hockey Hall of Fame (1990) Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (1992) Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame (2011) Ted Knight Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame (2019)

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1942–43 Regina Abbots MJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1943–44 Boston Olympics EAHL 32 12 7 19 31 12 2 6 8 14 1943–44 Brooklyn Crescents EAHL 11 5 9 14 12 — — — — — 1944–45 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1944–45 Boston Olympics EAHL 46 16 27 43 75 10 3 5 8 13 1945–46 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1945–46 Boston Olympics EAHL 45 11 23 34 80 12 2 7 9 11 1946–47 Boston Bruins NHL 23 1 4 5 41 5 0 0 0 8 1946–47 Hershey Bears AHL 38 4 8 12 64 — — — — — 1947–48 Boston Bruins NHL 56 4 6 10 69 5 0 0 0 12 1948–49 Boston Bruins NHL 60 4 12 16 62 5 0 1 1 8 1949–50 Boston Bruins NHL 69 2 5 7 122 — — — — — 1950–51 Boston Bruins NHL 14 1 1 2 37 — — — — — 1950–51 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 39 2 6 8 64 9 1 0 1 8 1950–51 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 11 1 6 7 24 — — — — — 1951–52 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 0 7 7 110 4 0 2 2 18 1952–53 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 2 6 8 110 — — — — — 1953–54 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 0 8 8 84 2 0 0 0 0 1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 70 4 14 18 150 4 1 0 1 2 1955–56 Boston Bruins NHL 62 4 17 21 70 — — — — — 1956–57 Boston Bruins NHL 68 6 25 31 108 10 0 3 3 19 1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 66 0 15 15 71 12 2 2 4 10 1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 70 0 21 21 101 7 0 0 0 8 1959–60 Boston Bruins NHL 60 2 18 20 112 — — — — — 1960–61 Boston Bruins NHL 62 2 9 11 59 — — — — — 1961–62 Providence Reds AHL 65 3 33 36 95 3 0 1 1 6 1962–63 Providence Reds AHL 68 4 17 21 65 6 0 2 2 0 1963–64 Providence Reds AHL 22 1 5 6 21 3 0 1 1 4 NHL totals 910 34 174 208 1370 63 4 8 12 93

Head coaching record

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