Jackets' Atkinson will buy dog for sign-holding fan
Call it "the dog days of winter."
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson has taken a fan's message on a sign one step further.
A day after notching a hat trick while Jackets fan Maddie Wright held up a sign to the glass saying, 'Dad said if 13 scores a goal on my birthday, we get a dog,' Atkinson said he will buy the girl the dog.
"Hopefully, she still names it after me," Atkinson told FOX Sports Ohio's Dave Maetzold.
Atkinson is looking forward to meeting the family, who he said is looking into getting a rescue dog, after the NHL All-Star break.
"I think he's an overachiever -- he might have gotten us roped into three dogs," Peri Wright, Maddie's mom, joked.
Maddie's message to Atkinson was a simple one: "Thanks, Cam."
Wright's sign was not the first of its kind. Sunday, Bobby Ryan of the Ottawa Senators scored a goal for a fan holding one that read, "Bobby, dad said if you score we get a puppy."
With Atkinson following in his footsteps Monday, will the "goal for dog" concept take off in other rinks?
"I think it's gonna be a trend around the league," Atkinson said.
