Curtis Glencross Curtis Jack Glencross ( born December 28 , 1982 age 30 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Undrafted by any team , he signed with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks as a free agent in 2004 and made his NHL debut with the team in 2007 . He has also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers , and joined the Flames in 2008 as an unrestricted free agent . He improved his scoring totals in each of his first three seasons in Calgary , earning a four - year contract extension with the team in 2011 . Glencross is a spokesman for the Special Olympics and is a member of Rae Croteau Jr . ' s chuckwagon racing team in the summer . Early life . Glencross was born December 28 , 1982 , in Kindersley , Saskatchewan , but grew up in Provost , Alberta . He is the son of Mel and Robin Glencross , and has a younger brother , Matthew , and sister , Kari . His parents both played hockey and say he inherited an intense competitive nature from them . His family moved to Red Deer , Alberta when he was a teenager as his parents began a livestock auction business . Glencross was small for his age , standing less than five feet tall when he was 15 , and as a result was often left off the top teams in minor hockey despite having the talent to play ; he played Midget C hockey in Provost . He experienced a rapid growth spurt , growing a full foot in a period of 17 months , and was recruited to play Junior A hockey for the expansion Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League ( AJHL ) in 2000 . He later became the first Bandit alumnus to play in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Playing career . College and minor professional . The Bandits were a last - place team both years Glencross played , but he was among the AJHL ' s leading goalscorers in 2001 – 02 with 42 goals . He went undrafted by an NHL team , but received interest from National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) schools and was considering returning to Brooks for a third season of junior . Jack Kowal , assistant coach of the University of Alaska - Anchorage Seawolves , had scouted Glencross during the season . Impressed with his ability and intensity on the ice , offered Glencross a full scholarship to play for his school . Glencross played two seasons at Alaska - Anchorage between 2002 and 2004 , scoring 32 goals and 57 points in 72 games . He was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association offensive player of the week for December 15 , 2003 , after scoring a hat trick against the Colorado College Tigers in a 5 – 2 win . He led the Seawolves in goals ( 21 ) and points ( 34 ) in 2002 – 03 . Glencross chose to forgo his final two years of college eligibility , signing a professional contract with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on March 25 , 2004 . He was assigned to the team ' s American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks , to complete the 2003 – 04 season . He scored two goals in seven regular season games , and one more in nine playoff games . He remained with Cincinnati in 2004 – 05 , appearing in 51 games and scoring nine points . He was moved to the Portland Pirates , also of the AHL , in 2005 – 06 and improved to 15 goals and 25 points in 41 games while also appearing in 19 post - season games . His 2006 – 07 season was split between four teams . Glencross began with the Pirates , but at mid - season earned his first call - up and made his NHL debut on January 13 , 2007 . He scored his first goal that night , against Peter Budaj , in a 3 – 2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche . He played two games with Anaheim before he was traded , along with Zenon Konopka and a 7th round draft pick , to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Mark Hartigan , Joe Motzko and a 4th round pick on January 26 . Glencross appeared in seven games with the Blue Jackets but finished the season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch . National Hockey League . Glencross established himself as an NHL regular in 2007 – 08 . He appeared in 36 games for the Blue Jackets before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Dick Tarnstrom on February 1 , 2008 . Glencross appeared in 26 games for the Oilers , scoring 15 goals and 25 points in 61 games combined between Columbus and Edmonton . Though he played well with Edmonton , the Oilers did not make a contract offer , making him an unrestricted free agent . Glencross hoped to remain in Edmonton as it was close to his Red Deer home . But after the Oilers made little effort to negotiate with him , he chose to sign a three - year , $ 3 . 6 million deal with Edmonton ' s provincial rival , the Calgary Flames . In his first year with the Flames , Glencross set new personal highs in games played ( 74 ) , goals ( 13 ) and points ( 40 ) . He missed six games in December 2008 with a knee injury , and three more early in the 2009 – 10 NHL season after he was suspended for a blind - side hit on Chris Drury of the New York Rangers . He set a new personal best with 15 goals on the season that included his first NHL hat trick in a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes . His season was ended on March 17 after suffering a leg injury when he was struck by Matt Hendricks of the Colorado Avalanche in a knee - on - knee collision . Playing in the final year of his contract , Glencross set personal highs of 24 goals and 43 points in 2010 – 11 . While the Flames received offers from other teams for Glencross at the trade deadline , the team chose to hold on to him though they risked losing him as an unrestricted free agent following the season . Glencross chose to remain in Calgary , agreeing to a four - year , $ 10 . 2 million contract with the Flames on May 17 , 2011 . Glencross felt that he could have earned a bigger contract on the open market , but chose to to take less money to remain in Calgary . Off the ice . While Glencross grew up around the rodeo circuit , he did not enter into the sport until he met World Professional Chuckwagon Association driver Rae Croteau Jr . in 2005 . He became interested in chuckwagon racing at the time , and while he does not race , Glencross was a part of Croteau ' s team in 2007 and 2008 , helping around the stables . Glencross and his wife Tanya have a daughter , Karter . An active member of the community , Glencross serves as a spokesman for the Special Olympics program , and hosts an annual charity golf tournament in support of Calgary Crime Stoppers . The first event , held in 2009 , raised C $ 100 , 000 .