New England Hockey Journal Replica Sample - 10

NHL
NHL NEW
NEW ENGLAND
ENGLAND

CAREER YEAR FOR CAM
n Atkinson (35 goals) set

the standard in Columbus
By Wayne Fish

ust two years ago, Cam
Atkinson's name was
being bandied about
in trade rumors.
A potential restricted free
agent, Atkinson was drawing
attention from several teams
before the NHL deadline, and
apparently Columbus was
willing to listen to offers.
Then suddenly everything changed. In a startling about-face, the Blue
Jackets pulled Atkinson off
the block and instead offered him a three-year contract worth $10.5 million.
Are they ever glad they did.
Atkinson showed signs of
trending upward last year when
he posted 27 goals. But that's
nothing compared to this season.
Atkinson (Greenwich, Conn.) led
the team with 62 points, on a career-high 35 goals and 27 assists.
He also led the team with nine
game-winning tallies.
At 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, he's
starting to remind people of
three-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Recchi.
"I think it's just confidence,''
the 27-year-old Atkinson said.
"That's the most important thing
for me, playing with the puck and
skating. That's my game. When I
don't skate, I feel like I'm kind of
irrelevant out there.''
In the regular season, the
right wing registered 240
shots, most on the Jackets
by a lot, along with a shooting percentage of 14.6.
"I try to shoot the puck
a lot,'' he acknowledged.
"And I'm trying to be a better two-way player. I think I've
done that a lot better this year.''
Atkinson had a plus-13 in
plus/minus, his best number in
that department for his career.
Atkinson's strong season
helped the Blue Jackets set franchise records for wins and points
as they challenged for the Metropolitan Division lead throughout the season and reeled off an

Cam

"I think just from training
camp, just a mindset, just expecting to win every night,'' Atkinson said. "Not just hoping to
win. I think that's a huge belief
that every player bought in. I like
the trickle-down effect starting
from management to coaches
to players. So we bought in to
that in the earlier stages and it's
showing up for sure."
Columbus saw its season end
April 20 when the Pittsburgh
Penguins wrapped up the Eastern Conference quarterfinals four
games to one. Atkinson tallied
twice in the team's 5-4 OT loss in
Game 3, but Columbus was stymied by the defending Stanley
Cup champs, falling 3-1, 4-1, 5-4 before a 5-4 win in Game 4 and the
season-ending 5-2 loss in Game 5.
Atkinson was selected by
the Blue Jackets in the sixth
round, 157th overall, of the 2008
NHL Entry Draft out of Avon Old
Farms School in Avon, Conn. He
later attended Boston College. In
the 2009-10 season, Atkinson led
the NCAA in goals scored with
30, including two in the Division
1 national championship game,
a 5-0 BC triumph over Wisconsin. During one stretch of the
2009-10 season, Atkinson scored
three hat tricks in 10 games.
But lots of guys have success
in college and only a handful
make the kind of impact Atkinson
is having on the NHL right now.
Making it even more fun, Atkinson gets to play in a division with
teams like the Rangers, Islanders,
Devils and Flyers, all in proximity
to his hometown
so that his family
can go watch his
games in person.
"It's the best,'' Atkinson said. "And I
think it's the best division. It's fun ... it's
a lot of run and gun.
These are big-time games leading
into the playoffs. Points are crucial.
"And the East Coast is my
home area, so my family gets to
come to a lot of games.''
Atkinson and the Blue Jackets fell short of their goals, but
the futrue looks bright in the
Buckeye State.

astounding 16 straight wins at
one point. He posted 13 specialteams goals as he caught the eye
of scouts and talent evaluators
around the NHL.
"It's great to get notoriety,'' he
said. "But I have to give a lot of
credit to my linemates (Boone
Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky).
They find me every single night
and they know I'm a shooter.

10 NEW ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL May 2017

"I've played with Boone and
'Duby' the last couple years. We
know how each other plays, so
it's been great so far.''
A late-season 5-3 win at Philadelphia showcased Atkinson's
talents. He took a Zach Werenski pass in stride and set sail on
a breakaway for an easy goal
past Flyers goalie Steve Mason.
Somewhere back in Con-

necticut, there was a lot of
whooping and hollering. This
season, that was just sort of just
par for the course. It's the type
of performance that has helped
turned Columbus from also-ran
into postseason qualifier under
coach John Tortorella (Concord, Mass.). Atkinson could
sense it might be this kind of
season right out of preseason.

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