Steve Atkinson

Steven John Atkinson (October 16, 1948 – May 6, 2003) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played centre and right wing in both the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association from 1969 to 1976. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he grew up in Barrie, where he was guided by Hap Emms; when Emms moved the Flyers from Barrie to Niagara Falls, he brought Atkinson with him. On April 26, 1968, Atkinson scored the winning goal in Game 8 to eliminate the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL Championship Series, part of a Flyers Memorial Cup title run in which he recorded 19 goals in 29 playoff games.

Originally drafted in 1966 by the Boston Bruins, after the Bruins acquired the pick from the Detroit Red Wings that February, Atkinson joined the Bruins affiliate Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League in 1968-69, scoring 80 points in 65 games and winning rookie of the year. He joined two expansion teams during his career. He was claimed by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft and spent four seasons with them, then was claimed by the Washington Capitals in the 1974 NHL Expansion Draft.