Fernie Flaman

Fernie Flaman
Born	Ferdinand Charles Carl Flaman (1927-01-25) 25 January 1927 Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	22 June 2012(2012-06-22) (aged 85)
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey defenceman, coach, scout
Years active	1943–1989
Known for	NHL player for Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs; head coach at Northeastern University

Ferdinand Charles Carl "Fernie" Flaman (January 25, 1927 – June 22, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Renowned for his rugged defensive play and effective bodychecking, Flaman later achieved notable success as the head coach at Northeastern University.

Career

Flaman was signed by the Boston Bruins organization in 1943 and spent three seasons developing with their minor league affiliate, the Boston Olympics. During this period, he earned selections to the Eastern Hockey League First All-Star Team in both 1945 and 1946. He secured a permanent spot on Boston's NHL roster in the 1946–47 season, where he played five campaigns before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Toronto, he captured a Stanley Cup championship in 1951.

Following three seasons with the Maple Leafs, Flaman returned to Boston in 1954. That season, he led the NHL with 150 penalty minutes. The Bruins appointed him team captain in 1955, a position he held until his retirement. Throughout his prime years, he was honored with three NHL Second All-Star Team selections (1955, 1957, and 1958) and participated in five NHL All-Star Games.

In 1961, Flaman transitioned into a player-coach-general manager role with the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League (AHL), retiring from playing after the 1963–64 season. He subsequently coached in both the Western Hockey League and Central Hockey League before taking over as head coach of Northeastern University's men's hockey program from 1970 to 1989. His 19-year tenure remains the longest in the school's history, compiling a record of 256 wins, 301 losses, and 24 ties. In recognition of his coaching excellence, Flaman was named U.S. college coach of the year in 1982. Under his guidance, Northeastern secured four Beanpot Tournament championships as well as a Hockey East title in 1988. Later in his career, he served as a scout for the New Jersey Devils.

Concluding his NHL playing career with totals of 34 goals and 174 assists (208 points) along with an imposing 1,370 penalty minutes across 910 games played, Flaman ranked third all-time in penalty minutes at the time of his retirement.

His achievements include inductions into several halls of fame: Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame (1965), Northeastern University Hall of Fame (1989), Hockey Hall of Fame (1990), Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (1992), and Ted Knight Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame (2019). He passed away in 2012.

In 2023, Flaman was recognized as one of the top 100 players in Boston Bruins history.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
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		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 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 1957–58 NHL season#Boston Bruins Boston Bruins NHL 66|||0|||15|||15|||71 12|||2|||2|||4|||10 |- 1958–59 NHL season#Boston Bruins Boston Bruins NHL 70|||0|||21|||21|||101 7|||  |||  |||  |||  |||8 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 1959–60 NHL season#Boston Bruins Boston Bruins NHL 60|||2|||18|||20|||112 —|||—|||—|||—|||— |- 1960–61 NHL season#Boston Bruins Boston Bruins NHL 62|||2|||9|||11|||59 —|||—|||—|||—|||— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 1961–62 AHL season#Providence Reds Providence Reds AHL 65|||3|||33|||36|||95 3|||  |||1|||1|||6 |- 1962–63 AHL season#Providence Reds Providence Reds AHL 68|||4|||17|||21|||65 6|||||||||||| |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 1963–64 AHL season#Providence Reds Providence Reds AHL 22||||1||||5||||6||||21 3||||||||||||4
NHL totals				910	34	174	208	1370		63	4	8	12	93

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)