Atkinson keeps coming up big for Blue Jackets

When the NHL All-Star Game takes place on Saturday night, 30 of the 44 players on the ice will have been drafted in the first round of the NHL draft. Six more were second-round picks.
There will be exactly one sixth-round pick.
Two numbers -- 6 and 13 -- seem to tell you all you need to know about Cam Atkinson. Thirteen defines everything he does, from his sweater number to the
Force Network Fund
, the foundation he's helped establish to help military and first responders. And it's clear he's not afraid of superstition -- he's worked too hard for that.
Then there's No. 6. As a sixth-round pick, there was no guarantee he'd make ever it to the NHL, let alone become a star.

Just 11 of the 30 players selected in the sixth round of the 2008 draft have played a single NHL game. The nine skaters other than Atkinson to make it to the league averaged 21 goals in their NHL career and combined for zero All-Star appearances.
Atkinson, now in his eighth season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has 172 career goals, more than twice as many as anyone else taken in the sixth round that season. This year alone, he already has 27 goals, the main reason he'll be making his second All-Star appearance on Saturday.
All of which is to say that Atkinson's success is beyond uncommon for someone taken in the sixth round. It's essentially unheard of in the modern NHL.
"Nothing has ever been given to me, so I've had to work at every age, every level to get where I am," Atkinson said recently. "I'm still not satisfied. I'm obviously happy I've been getting the acknowledgement. I've always believed in myself, and I think that's the most important thing, but right now I still have a lot of years left to play. I'll look back when I'm done with my career, and hopefully I've accomplished everything I've set aside to do."
Tops on that list? Winning a Cup in Columbus, where Atkinson is signed through the 2024-25 season. Barring a trade somewhere down the horizon, it seems likely he'll end his career with the Blue Jackets.
That's good news for a franchise that has invested in an athlete who like a fine wine keeps getting better with age and keeps pushing for more. With his second All-Star bid, it seems safe to say Atkinson can be listed among the top players in the game.
It's an assessment no less than head coach John Tortorella shares.
"He's one of the top players in this league," Tortorella said. "I think he feels that, and I think he feels a tremendous responsibility to the organization, signs a new contract and all that. He's part of the leadership group now. He's grown.
"He's a hell of a player."

Never Settling

What was Atkinson's reaction to those comments from his head coach?
"I think when I'm on top of my game, I'm up there for sure, but for me, I'm always humble," Atkinson said. "It's great that he acknowledges that, but I have to focus on what drives me and what makes me successful in this league, and I have to continue to do that."
Understanding those factors might be one of the biggest keys to Atkinson's success. He split his first two pro seasons between Columbus and Springfield of the AHL, then the team's top minor league affiliate, but there have been fits and starts along the way.
Atkinson had seven goals in 27 games in his first go-round with the team, then nine goals in 35 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. From there, the numbers increased by the year - 21 goals during the team's playoff season of 2014, 22 the year after that, 27 the next season and then 35 for a Blue Jackets team that returned to the postseason in 2016-17.
After 24 goals last season -- a year in which Atkinson has spoken about losing his desire to play and rekindling it after a foot injury sidelined him for a good chunk of games -- Atkison is again on pace to blow his career high out of the water.
To his teammates and coaches, that consistency is what has come to define Atkinson.
"Early on, when he had a good game, he was 10 feet tall and forgot how to practice the next day and forgot what to do as far as preparing again," Tortorella said. "I think he's really matured there. I think he understands himself better. He understands his game, when it's on, when it's off, and how he can get himself to be more consistent. He's flatlined. He doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low."
"I think with Cam, the biggest thing he's learned is there's more to give," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "His offensive ability is unbelievable. I think the biggest thing for him is knowing both sides of the puck are so important. He's taken that step the past few years. He's become an elite player in this league for a few years now and is just starting to get recognized for it.
"When you talk about guys who consistently bring it, Cam Atkinson is one of those guys."
Atkinson is also in a different spot in his life now. He was married in July, 2017, and his first child, a son named Declan, was born this summer. He spends time working with his foundation and is co-founder and part-owner of the Battery Hockey Academy in Plain City.
"I think (I handle success better), but I also think I have a lot going on outside of hockey, which also lets me focus more on that allows me not to get so hard on myself because I kind of have to turn the page," Atkinson said. "That lets me play a little more free."

Beyond His Size

So why exactly was Atkinson a sixth-round pick?
After all, it was never a secret that he could score. Playing at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut, a powerful prep school in his home state that produced Brian Leetch among others, Atkinson had 73 goals and 158 points in 81 games.
But with Atkinson listed at just 5-foot-8, there were questions whether that elite talent would work in the professional game. Because of that, Columbus was able to nab him late in the draft, and he immediately showed his stuff the next two seasons at Boston College, where he had 105 points in his last 81 games playing at college hockey's highest level.
If it reminds the reader of another diminutive forward who played his college hockey in the northeast, there's a reason for that. Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis, who played at the University of Vermont, posted similar numbers in college and then had to split his early pro years at the NHL and minor league levels.
Along the way, he dealt with the same question: Could someone his size make it in a sport defined by its physical nature?
St. Louis proved what it took to do so, ending his NHL career with more than 1,000 points. He now lives in Connecticut, where he's struck up a relationship with Atkinson and remains impressed with his game.
"He doesn't just skill it out there," said St. Louis, who was
hired as a special teams consultant
by the Blue Jackets on Monday. "He goes to the dirty areas and gets tip-ins, rebounds. He plays in every situation. He's been fun to watch. I'm not surprised by the success he's having. He's figured out what kind of game he needs to play to be successful, and once he figured that out and had the success, I think it makes you hungrier.
"What I like is I see a confident athlete doing great things with all the hard work he's putting in and getting rewarded for his hard work. It's nice to see."
If there's a common denominator between the two, other than height, it's John Tortorella. Tortorella was the coach when St. Louis got his big break in Tampa, and the two spent seven seasons together, including the 2004 season with the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.
When Tortorella got to Columbus, he saw some of St. Louis in Atkinson. Not just in their lack of height but in each player's ability to play bigger than his size, get to the difficult areas on the ice, and play with a competitive streak that serves the team well in all situations.
"I've never looked at those two guys as small guys because they play so big," Tortorella said. "They're similar, but I think Cam still needs to use Marty as a measuring stick. I think Cam has another level in how to condition himself in the offseason because Marty made so many improvements there. I think Cam can get to another level in just a ferocity of play Marty brought.
"They're two really good players. Marty, that's a tough one to reach for Cam, but that's a really good thing for him to look at."

More To Come

Atkinson wouldn't be surprised or disappointed to hear his coach say there's even more in the tank for the Blue Jackets star.
That's because Atkinson believes the same thing.
"I still feel like I have a whole 'nother level to get to," Atkinson said. "I'm showing it now, but I still feel like there's a lot of gas left in the tank. Hockey is a sport where you can never be satisfied. If you take your foot off the gas pedal, you have all these young guys trying to take your spot, so it's a game where you need to prove yourself every day, and that's what I love about it."
This season, there has been a new addition to Atkinson's game - or at least his sweater. He wears an alternate captain's "A" on a rotating basis along with fellow All-Star Seth Jones, a new role that Atkinson has filled this season.
Team captain Foligno praised Atkinson's leadership, in part because of the consistent drive that pushes him to improve each and every day.
"That's what you want," Foligno said. "For a lot of us, we strive for that, and he's a guy that really thrives in that position in wanting more and never settling and knowing there's more to give. He's a guy that's really led the charge there. It's great to see."
"He's accepted responsibility," Tortorella added. "He's wearing a letter now. I think he knows what he means to this hockey club."
Atkinson has long been No. 2 all-time in franchise annals for goals and recently moved into the second spot in points. At the rate he's going, at some point he'll threaten Rick Nash's franchise records, though that's not at the forefront of his mind right now.
So what is? Atkinson won't exactly say. Just know that he's focused on some big-picture accomplishments that would be sure to thrill Blue Jackets fans.
"It's more personal stuff," he said of what he hopes to accomplish next. "Maybe I'll come up with a book when I'm done playing. But for me, it's all about the team and winning a Cup. I think that's the most important thing."