2022-23 Flyers Player Profile: Cam Atkinson
By Scott Cole
Last year, Chuck Fletcher stunned Flyers fans when he actually made a trade that was pretty decent. In a trade that actually worked out well for both teams, he shipped off Jakub Voracek to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Cam Atkinson in what basically was a “change of scenery trade”.
Fletcher saved the Flyers about $3 million in cap space. Voracek would score only six goals but tallied 56 assists to lead CBJ with 62 total points. Atkinson would score 23 goals and notch 27 assists; putting him one goal behind James Van Riemsdyk and two points behind Travis Konecny for the team leads.
Atkinson put in his best season since 2018-19. In Columbus, he had three seasons where he put up more that 50 points. Atkinson’s goals came in spurts as he tends to be quite streaky. But as long as he lights up the lamp, that’s all that matters. He missed only nine games this year, which when you consider all the games that our top vets missed, that wasn’t bad. Likewise, had everyone been healthy, It’s possible that Atkinson could’ve topped 60 points.
His 11 years of service make him one of the most experienced Flyers, along with Sean Couturier and JVR. With the Flyers in a reboot/refresh/rebuild or whatever you want to call it, his skills are going to be necessary in this upcoming season.
More importantly, Atkinson is going to be the link between the longer term Flyers like Coots, JVR, and Konecny with new coach John Tortorella.
Torts is known for being a fiery, competitive guy. There are lots of players who love and appreciate his style of coaching and lots that can’t stand him. There are some concerns that some of the Flyers may not gel with the new coach. Afterall, there was definitely tension between Konecny and Alain Vigneault and between JVR and Peter Laviolette.
This is where Atkinson comes in. Tortorella coached the Blue Jackets between 2015 and 2021. During this time, Atkinson had his best seasons, scoring 35 goals in 2016-17 and 41 in 2018-19. Atkinson has personally vouched for Tortorella and said he would be a great fit here in Philly.
Atkinson may still be “the new guy” on the team, but his relationship with the new coach will greatly help this team adjust to Tortorella’s ways. I think part of the reason why Tortorella is here is because Atkinson campaigned for him to take the reigns. He can let the team know what the new coach expects of them and how best to respond if Torts goes on one of his rants.
Atkinson will be the most important Flyer during this upcoming season. It’s not because of what he can do on the ice, but what he can do in the locker room. I don’t know if he will be named team captain, but I could see him getting an “A” on his jersey as the perfect liaison between coach and teammates. If there are any issues between Torts and players, I could see Atkinson smoothing them out.
My predictions for Atkinson are going to be 25 goals and 40 assists. I can see him navigating this team and helping adapt his teammates to their new coaches playing style. As a result, he will flourish. Because of his relationship with Tortorella, he will be the most important player on this team. He will have his best year in years and set the stage for a better season for several other players as well.