Player Profile Presented by Dodge – Scott Atkinson
Edmonton, AB – Captain’s log, May 6, 2021 approximately 9:30 PM – a job well done.
On September 20, 2019 the Edmonton Oil Kings named Scott Atkinson as their 13th captain in modern franchise history, a post he would hold for the final two years of his WHL career.
What followed were two of the most successful seasons the Oil Kings have put forth…in the regular season. As for the post-season, well, crickets.
Due to the global pandemic, the Vancouver, BC product never got the chance to lead his team on a lengthy post-season run despite captaining the team to the best record in the WHL’s Central Division and Eastern Conference in back-to-back years. It’s a set a set of circumstances that you wouldn’t begrudge anyone for being angry or resentful about, but that mentality just simply isn’t in the fabric of the Edmonton captain.
“No playoffs is obviously tough and it’s a bit disappointing,” said Atkinson. “At the same time, I know we’re really lucky to be here right now on the ice together. The group that we have has become really close over the last couple of years. I think because of that we’re happy and enjoy being on the ice whenever we can, so it doesn’t really matter, at the end of the day, if we’re playing playoffs or what the situation is, we’re still just trying to have fun out there, enjoying the moment and having fun with each other.”
“It’s disappointing to see a guy like him have the ‘C’ on his jersey, been banging it out for five years in junior hockey and not get the opportunity to go and win a championship,” added Oil Kings Head Coach Brad Lauer on his captain. “These last two years we’ve had that opportunity taken away from us due to the pandemic but it’s a credit to him, he’s held his head up high, he’s worked hard and will finish his career off on his own terms and a high note.”
There are numerous adjectives that can be used to describe what makes a great leader but through the eyes of the team’s coaching staff, what made Atkinson their perfect leader was something that came natural to him.
“When you talk about Scott Atkinson you right away think of the leadership he brings to our group,” said Lauer. “The way he carries himself off the ice is the way you want your captain to represent your organization. He’s always been that reliable player in practices, always been that guy that’s been between the young and older players helping them out. Then there’s the way he plays the game on the ice, he’s very reliable, he plays both ends of the rink. He’s just that player that’s prepared, he’s always in great shape.”
For Atkinson, he believes the leadership trait he possesses comes to him genetically.
“I think it started from my parents (Chris and Nicole), honestly,” said Atkinson. “I learn a lot from them, they’ve taught me a lot of lessons over the years. They’re both educators so they both know what it is to set an example for others and to lead that way and I think I’ve picked up off that; just being a good person, being nice to everybody and treat everybody how you want to be treated. I think that’s where I’ve learned a lot of my lessons from and throughout the years I’ve tried to bring that attitude to the ice and obviously work hard and set an example for the younger guys.”
Atkinson broke into the WHL during the 2016-17 season appearing in three games with the Oil Kings as a call-up heading into and out of that year’s Christmas break. That year was his final season of minor hockey playing for the Greater Vancouver Canadians AAA team where he would lead the BC Major Midget League in goals with 38 and finished third in points with 66. He has gone on to play 187 career games in an Oil Kings sweater, recording 78 career points (35G, 43A), a +23 rating and a 52.4% success rate in the faceoff dot. He was originally selected by the club in the fifth round, 98th-overall, of the 2015 WHL Draft.
Coming into his first full-season in 2017-18 and off a tremendously successful offensive season in minor hockey, Atkinson saw an opportunity to carve out a different role for himself on an up and coming Oil Kings roster.
“I think coming in we had a different mix of guys and the biggest thing for me was that I wanted to help the team win in any way that I could,” recalled Atkinson. “Usually in midget, most guys coming to play in junior, are usually the guys that were normally relied on for offence and that usually switches when the competition gets better.
“You have to find ways to stay relevant (when you’re younger) and help out the team. I think something I worked on a lot was my defensive game and penalty killing. Being solid on both ends and being a reliable guy is something our coaching staff preaches, and I think I kind of found my role that way which lead to me getting more opportunity and chances to grow my game offensively.”
In his time with the Oil Kings, he has seen both ends of the junior hockey cycle, finishing his rookie season on a last place team to his final three years playing for a championship contender, something he says has helped not only the organization grow, but himself personally.
“It’s definitely been a crazy switch-around,” remarked Atkinson. “Coming in we were in a bit of a rebuild and had some difficult years where we didn’t win a lot of games and I think through those years is where we grew the most. I think that’s something you really remember are those struggles, going through those tough times, and really, I think it’s made us better people. Now that we’re doing well, you look back and see where we came from and it’s pretty cool to have gone through both sides.”
Following the 2018-19 season, Atkinson was named as the Oil Kings recipient of the Kristians Pelss Award, given to the player who demonstrates what it means to be an Oil King both on and off the ice, a prelude to his final two seasons in which he’d wear the ‘C’ on his chest.
Atkinson will skate in his final game as an Oil King on Thursday May 6 in the team’s last game of the 2021 WHL season, a night he says he’ll try and approach as just another game while knowing full well it is anything but.
“I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can,” said Atkinson. “I’m going to soak it in, it’s going to be tough, but at the end of the day I’m not going to have any regrets looking back on my career and I just feel really fortunate to have played in these many games with these guys, it’s going to be special for sure.”
