If you understand Swedish,
here's an article I wrote about Can Atkinson's new digs in Columbus and his nickname - "Biebs". If you don't understand Swedish, here's the English version...
Right winger Cam Atkinson is in his second professional season and after splitting last year between the Columbus Blue Jackets and their AHL affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts plus his stellar play in the AHL during the NHL lockout where he earned 38 points in 33 games, he's finally been told to find a permanent home in Columbus.
"I was with living with the Umburgers. It started over the summer when RJ asked me to live with him for the week prior to the start of training camp. So, I moved in with him and his wife Kara and their two beautiful girls before the lockout started and then, before the season started in January, he asked if I would stay with them until they told me that I was sticking around and could get a place of my own and I really couldn't say no. I thought it was a great opportunity to learn first hand what it was like to be a pro on and off the ice. I lived with him for the first six weeks of the season and I couldn't have asked for anything better," Atkinson explained.
Atkinson had a rough start to the season as he suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp and missed the first 13 games of the year.
"It was just the worst timing possible," he said. "But slowly but surely it's coming around. I have to do stuff that I don't normally have to do to prepare for games or get treatment after practice. I have to tape it - almost like a cast - every time I get on the ice and it kind of prevents me from doing things that I know that I'm capable of doing - things that I'm used to doing… the things that make me a dynamic player - but I do what I need to do to get by and do the best that i can right now."
He's been playing on a line with Matt Calvert and Brandon Dubinsky and they've been playing well enough as a hard working energy line to earn Atkinson a permanent home in Columbus for the foreseeable future.
"It's a lot more comfortable [knowing I have a spot on this team]. Last year was kind of like you never knew what was going to happen, but it's nice to know that if you have a bad game or a couple bad plays you won't get sent down."
He moved out of the Umberger's and into an apartment downtown right near the arena and close to a lot of the other younger players on the team.
"I moved downtown because all the young guys are down here and I wanted to be close to them. Plus, the traffic getting to the rink from the Umberger's, who live in the suburbs, was a huge pain in the arse. The distance was one thing, but also the drivers here are some of the worst. I'm used to New York City, so I like to think I know a bad driver when I see one. If it snows - even just a little bit - they go ten miles an hour. It's like they've never seen snow before ever in their life," he joked. "If it rains, God forbid they pull over and wait for the rain to stop. So, sometimes it can take me 45 minutes to go door to door, but being closer, now that I live downtown, I'm within walking distance and I'm close to a bunch of the other guys on the team. I like it a lot."
So, now that he's got his first real apartment, it's time to decorate it.
"The furniture is actually arriving today. So, as soon as I'm done here with you, I'm going to go back and hopefully my couch is there and the coffee table. It's like my first adult place and I'm really excited for all the furniture to arrive to make it look complete. I never thought I would be this excited about furniture, but it's true," Atkinson explained.
"I have pretty exquisite taste when it comes to stuff like that," he said only half joking since he likes to consider himself more fashion-forward than not. "But I actually hired an interior decorator to help me out. I gave them a budget to work with - I didn't want to go too crazy but I wanted it to be nice. So, they helped me pick everything out from the bedding to the paint to the art on the wall to help bring all the colors together. It's pretty cool. I'm very excited. I know my dad is very excited. He comes out every weekend that we have a home game, so I know he's excited to have a couch to sit on and my girlfriend likes it. So it's nice. I feel like a grown up."
While he might feel like a grown up, the 5'7", 170 pound 23-year-old could still pass as a teenager, due in large part to his baby face which has earned him the nickname Bieber in the locker room…as in Justin Bieber.
"It's the best nickname in the world," he said smiling from ear to ear. "I was actually talking to my girlfriend about that last night…you hear so many nicknames from guys that are considered chirps, but you can't chirp the Biebs. He can probably get any girl he wanted and he's wealthy - really wealthy - and he's a 19-year-old kid doing what he loves to do. I don't mind being compared to him at all!"
Julie
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