Blair Atcheynum

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Blair Atcheynum bigraphy, stories - Professional ice hockey player

Blair Atcheynum : biography

20 April 1969 –

Blair Michael Atcheynum (born April 20, 1969) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. Atcheynum is of Cree First Nation descent.

Playing career

Atcheynum was selected in the third round, 52nd overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft after scoring 70 goals in 71 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League during the 1988–89 season. He never reached the NHL with the Whalers and was later claimed by the new Ottawa Senators in the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft.

He spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues but was able to break into the NHL for a total of 196 games over four seasons. He got his first taste of the NHL during the 1992–93 NHL season when he played four games for the Ottawa Senators, although he spent the majority of the season with their farm team, the New Haven Senators of the American Hockey League. It would take another four years to make it as a regular in the NHL. He played in 61 games (scoring a respectable 11 goals and 15 assists) during the 1997–98 NHL season for the St. Louis Blues after signing with the team as a free agent. With St. Louis, Atcheynum would typically play on a line with Craig Conroy and Scott Pellerin that was fondly referred to as the "CPA Line". Blues general manager Larry Pleau was impressed by Atcheynum’s hard work, saying "Blair’s not a player in the bottom third of our roster. He’s one of our first nine forwards. He can move up to the first or second line without missing a step if we need him".

The next year he was selected in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft by the newly-formed Nashville Predators. He played 53 games with the Predators before being traded back to St. Louis for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. In 1999 he was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played 66 games between 1999 and 2001. Atcheynum retired as a professional hockey player in 2001.

Atcheynum is currently an assistant coach with the Battlefords North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League

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