Cam Atkinson Defied the Odds. His Journey Comes Home Thursday

Atkinson to be honored by longtime team Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday

(Atkinson scores as member of Blue Jackets)

By Anthony Pellegrino @Pellegrinoap50 TheFrozenFocus.com NHL Correspondent

Nationwide Arena hasn’t changed much since Cam Atkinson’s departure in 2021, by way of a trade that sent the forward to Philadelphia near the twilight of his career.

Two years later, after thirteen NHL seasons and more than 800 games, he’s ready to step away.

But before he does, the Columbus Blue Jackets are giving him one last skate. A ceremonial one-day contract, a small gesture for a player who carried this team through more than a few lean years.

Atkinson became more than a fixture for the Blue Jackets during his career, he more-so became a piece of Columbus itself. He arrived in 2011, just a year past the franchise’s first decade, and quickly grew into one of its first real stars. Someone fans could point to and say, "he’s ours."

He carried that midwestern fittingly-gritty attitude. Undersized for an NHL player, overlooked, and unwilling to go away.

At 5-foot-8 and drafted in the sixth round, he was never supposed to make it. But he did. He fought through the doubt, through the noise, through the years when the Blue Jackets were still trying to find who they were.

By the time he left, he’d become one of the franchise’s most familiar faces. Through playoff pushes and rebuilds, through losing streaks that felt endless, he kept coming. He always did.

“I defied the odds,” Atkinson told The Athletic. “It was (former Blue Jackets scout) Rob Riley who had my back and took a chance on me.

That faith carried him for a decade; until the summer of 2021, when the call came. Columbus sent him to Philadelphia in a move that seemed to shock the Blue Jackets fan base.

So why the honor on Thursday night?

(Atkinson faces spotlight)

Maybe that’s what time does. It dulls the edges, but it doesn’t erase what built you. For Atkinson, Columbus was where a teenager became a star, where a sixth-round pick standing 5-foot-8 defied every expectation.

He wasn’t supposed to last this long, let alone leave a mark that outlived his jersey. But those who watched him play could see it in his energy, the chip on his shoulder, the way he carried himself like he was still trying to prove something.

Because he was. What kind of 5'8 player expects to make the NHL? His mindset alone carried his career.

“You’re doubted your whole career, but my mindset was, ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’ The doubters fueled my fire. I loved it. I embraced it. I loved being the underdog and hearing what I couldn’t do.”

And where, in the process, he made Columbus his home.