Flyers sniper Cam Atkinson reporting for duty

It was just another day in July, I woke up, checked my phone and thought nothing was going to happen yet after Chuck Fletcher just made a series of moves. Then, I got an alert on my phone and texts pouring in that the Flyers had gotten their long sought after sniper.

Cam Atkinson was a Flyer. The team gave up long time Flyer and fan favorite Jakub Voracek, but both teams got exactly what they wanted in this trade.

From the second Atkinson found out he was coming to Philadelphia, you could see he was super energized. His smile, body language and of course, Gritty t-shirt, said all we needed to know about the long time Metropolitan rival and former Blue Jacket. It also helps when Grandma Marge shows her love for Philadelphia as well.

The preseason rolled around as the first looks at Atkinson began. He did not disappoint or appear to be anything that was not advertised. In four preseason games, Atkinson scored three goals. He led the team with goals in the preseason. While impressive enough, the real question would come in the regular season on if he could keep it up.

The answer was yes, that was clearly rhetorical. Atkinson scored in his first game against the Canucks during the Flyers home opener. That wasn’t what impressed me most as he was moving the puck really crisply and being an absolute threat in the offensive zone. He was also a great asset in the defensive zone as well. Then came his turn to score.

The FAB line struck for the second goal of the game with a beautiful tic-tac-goal. Farabee got a pass behind the net from Brassard. Farabee then alertly threw it to the front and Atkinson, while having Tyler Myers all over him, was able to get enough of it to go far post on Demko. It was his reaction for me that told me the Flyers found their goal scorer.

There are a bunch of pure goal scorers in the league. There are even fewer pure snipers. Out of all those players, there is one intangible that sets the good players apart from the great players. That is the love for the game. A good example of this intangible is Alex Ovechkin. He celebrates every goal like it could be his last and seeing Atkinson this year has shown me he has it.

He is under contract with the Flyers until 2025. He will be making 5.275 million per year. He also has an extra year of control as well. Both teams got what they wanted in the trade and it is still early to say that either team won the trade.

Through nine games, Atkinson has scored scored goals and has one assist. He also has a +/- of 8 as well. Atkinson has been good at not turning the puck over as well. While his line has been giving up more chances recently, they have been good at out scoring the opposition.

The team itself has a new look and new feel to it. The veteran additions have given this team a new life and Atkinson has be a big catalyst of this rebirth. Whenever you see him, he is always smiling and giving his teammates encouragement. He has also brought the shoot first mentality to a team who has been lacking that aggressiveness.

While we are reaching the tenth game of the season, I, like many others, expect big things from Cam Atkinson. The FAB line has been successful, a big part of that being Atkinson and his finishing ability. As of right now, he is on pace to score over 30+ goals right now.