Blair Atcheynum
Blair Michael Atcheynum (born April 20, 1969) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey right winger. He played a career total of 196 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks. He is of Cree First Nation descent.[1]
| Blair Atcheynum | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 20, 1969 Estevan, SK |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) |
| Position | Right Wing |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | Ottawa Senators Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Chicago Blackhawks |
| NHL Draft | 52nd overall, 1989 Hartford Whalers |
| Playing career | 1989–2001 |
Career
Before playing in the NHL, Atcheynum played for the Battlefords North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and with the Saskatoon Blades, Swift Current Broncos, and Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
He was drafted 52nd overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. However, he never played a game for the Whalers and he was claimed by the new Ottawa Senators in the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft.[2] Atcheynum spent most of his professional hockey career playing for the minor leagues. He made his NHL debut with the Senators in the 1992–93 season and played 3 games with them. He spent most of that season playing for the Senators' AHL-affiliate, the New Haven Senators.
On September 15, 1997, Atcheynum became a free agent and signed a contract with the St. Louis Blues.[2] When he was with St. Louis, he mainly played on a line referred to as the "CPA Line" along with Craig Conroy and Scott Pellerin.[3]
He played 1 season with the Blues and he was claimed by the newly formed Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft.[2] He would play 53 games with the Predators before he was traded back to the St. Louis Blues for St. Louis' 6th round choice (Zbynek Irgl) in 2000 NHL Entry Draft on March 23, 1999.[2]
On September 30, 1999, he became a free agent and he signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. He played 66 games for the Blackhawks between 1999 and 2001. He retired from playing professional ice hockey in 2001.
On August 19, 2011, Atcheynum was inducted into the Moose Jaw Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame.[4]
He is currently an assistant coach with the Battlefords North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.[5]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985–86 | Battlefords North Stars | SJHL | 33 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 41 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1985–86 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 21 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 60 | 32 | 16 | 48 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 71 | 70 | 68 | 138 | 70 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 13 | ||
| 1989–90 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 78 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 72 | 25 | 27 | 52 | 42 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 62 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 64 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | New Haven Senators | AHL | 51 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Columbus Chill | ECHL | 16 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 40 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Minnesota Moose | IHL | 17 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Worcester IceCats | AHL | 55 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Cape Breton Oilers | AHL | 79 | 30 | 42 | 72 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 77 | 42 | 45 | 87 | 57 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 6 | ||
| 1997–98 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 61 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 53 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1999–00 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 47 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 37 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 196 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 36 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||||
References
- ↑ "The Native American Sports Experience". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Blair Atcheynum - Notes". NHL. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ↑ "Blues' Conroy Checks For Success". CBS News. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ↑ "Atcheynum and Kletzel to Highlight Alumni Weekend". Moose Jaw Warriors. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ↑ "Battlefords North Stars Staff". Battlefords North Stars. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2014-10-21.