An early farewell to ex-Sabre, Steve Atkinson

By Ross Brewitt

It’s one of those May days that sits on the fence between spring and summer. Sunny, breezy, and cool enough for a suit jacket. It’s the day we say goodbye to Steve Atkinson.

He came out of Barrie, Ont., from a large family, the kind who loved sports and was competitive as only families and siblings can be. But Steve was the best, leaving home at age 15 to make the trip to Niagara Falls, and join the OHL Junior Flyers.

In that first season he was good enough to stay, not quite good enough to play on a regular basis, logging only 15 games and one goal. The Flyers of the day boasted a roster that could have been the basis for any NHL team.

In goal Bernie Parent, on defence John Arbour, Rick Ley, Gilles Marotte, Barry Wilkins. Up front, Derek Sanderson, Jean Pronovost, Bill Goldsworthy, Jim Lorentz, Rosaire Paiement, Ted Snell, and Don Marcotte.

Considering that lineup, and his age, it’s a wonder he played at all his first season of junior. A team talented enough to win the Falls’ first Memorial Cup in 1965, and three seasons later, 1968, they would win their second. By this time Steve Atkinson was a 37 goal, 73-point man in the regular season, with 14 goals and 24 points playing all 19 playoff games. Plus he had his name on the coveted Memorial Cup twice.

He was Detroit’s first choice, 6th overall, in the amateur draft but was traded to the Boston Bruins, suiting up with their farm club in Oklahoma City of the Central League, his 40 goals and 40 assists winning him rookie of year in ’69. Through a maze of claims and trades Atkinson made his way to the Buffalo Sabres in that inaugural season of 1970.

All told, his NHL career, beginning with a single game with the Bruins, covered four full seasons with the Sabres, and ended with 46 games with the hapless Washington Capitals of 1974-75. Those Caps set a record for futility in that opening season, only eight wins and five ties against 67 losses.

By the age of 27, Steve Atkinson had seen the last of the NHL, but did it change him? Not in the least. To those in the game he remained the same smiling, funny, quick with a hockey story and borderline cocky guy we had always remembered.

Over the visitation period Eddie Shack paid his respects with a final visit, reminding me of one of the best stories about the scene-stealing Shack. It was the last time I interviewed Steve Atkinson, at a snooker tournament in Niagara Falls, a place called Double Z’s on Dorchester Road.

Circling the table, he questioned me between shots. "Remember Gump Worsley? I had a natural hat trick against him at the Aud. On the last one I deked him so good, he hurt his back. They had to roll out a gurney all the way from the other end of the rink. Goofy Shackie climbs aboard and starts paddling with his stick like he was in a canoe. Poor Gumper," he said, chuckling at the memory, "he’s lyin’ there in pain, the crowd is laughing, and he must’a thought these fans are the cruelest in the world," he laughs, while those nearby join in, party to an inside look on the wild side.

On this May 10th, in a crowded church in Niagara Falls, Steve’s life is further revealed in the eulogies and stories that flow after, his love for the game, its characters, and his unfailing good spirits.

Among the mourning family and friends are an honor guard of ex-Sabre teammates. Fred Stanfield, Gerry Meehan, Ken Breitenbach, Danny Gare, Larry Carriere, Don Luce, along with former coach Joe Crozier.

Steve Atkinson left us behind at age 54. He wasn’t a big star, unless you count all those people who gathered on that sunny, final day.

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