Atkinson anticipating emotional first game with Flyers at Blue Jackets

Cam Atkinson is expecting an emotional night when he plays his first game as a visiting player for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, NBCSP+, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).

Atkinson played his first 10 NHL seasons with the Blue Jackets before he was traded to the Flyers for forward Jakub Voracek on July 24.
"I'm excited to go back," Atkinson said. "Obviously a little anxious, but Columbus is home for me and my wife (Natalie) and my family. We have a house there, both boys (sons Declan and Caden) were born there. ... I'm sure it'll be emotional. I'm going to have a lot of friends and family that will be attending that game, my dad, my wife, one of my boys I believe. I'm looking forward to it."
Atkinson became a staple of the Columbus hockey scene on and off the ice. He's second in Blue Jackets history in games played (627), goals (213) and points (402) behind Rick Nash (674 games, 289 goals, 547 points).
But it's away from the rink where Atkinson might have made a bigger impact. He helped open Battery Hockey Academy, a hockey training center in the Columbus suburb of Plain City, Ohio in 2018 that has worked with more than 5,500 athletes, most between the ages of 4 and 13, and fields several youth teams for boys and girls.
He also helped start the Force Network Fund, which raises money for military groups and first responders. Two of Atkinson's brothers, Scott and Brett, are volunteer firefighters in Connecticut. Two cousins, Patrick Robben and Elizabeth Muldoon, are serving in the U.S. Army.

"Giving back was instilled in me and all my brothers at such an early age, whether it was soup kitchens or giving money to different charitable organizations that were in need," Atkinson said. "And I think obviously being in the professional ranks and having somewhat of a platform, I think it's very important to use that in a positive way."
Blue Jackets vice president of communications and team services Todd Sharrock had a firsthand view of Atkinson's commitment to the Columbus community.
"It was just something that was always really important to him because he appreciated the things that he had," Sharrock said. "Once he established himself as a player, he was one of those guys that was always ready to dive in and do what he could."
The Battery Hockey Academy has helped fill a needed role in building youth hockey in Ohio, giving elite-level youth players a place to hone their skills locally with the hope of developing another wave of Columbus-area NHL players to follow Blue Jackets forwards Sean Kuraly and Jack Roslovic, Colorado Avalanche forward Kiefer Sherwood and Nashville Predators forward Kole Sherwood.
"Being in Columbus for 10 years and seeing how much of a development from Learn to Skate to the youth programs to the guys that are making it to colleges, juniors and now the NHL," Atkinson said. "You have a couple of local kids in Columbus on the Blue Jackets. ... More and more kids are making it and we're just a small piece of that development for these kids, just to get them on the ice as much as possible to really dial in their skills and stuff like that."

Atkinson still maintains a strong role in Battery's day-to-day operations.
"We meet with him via phone probably every two weeks," Battery Hockey general manager Brad Spradlin said. "We'll work around his schedule, of course, but getting his input, what he's seeing and hearing, directions he'd like us to go. ... He's always got good suggestions of people he's worked with in the past. I've been really pleasantly surprised with how active he's been with us given his busy schedule."
Battery Hockey remains Atkinson's most public link to Columbus. His photo in a Blue Jackets jersey remains at the top of its website and the young players who train there will be at Nationwide Arena on Thursday to welcome him back.
"We have a block of 100 tickets up in the upper deck center section and we're hoping to add even more," Spradlin said. "It's going to be a good group and we'll all be wearing our Battery Hockey gear to let him know we're there."
Atkinson's legacy also will be represented by organizations that have received money from the Force Network Fund. Among the charitable endeavors was a 5K race Atkinson organized in June 2020 that raised more than $40,000 to help OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, where his sons were born, to purchase a rapid-response COVID-19 testing device.

Cam and Natalie also have worked with USO Ohio to send children of members of the armed forces to summer camp and helped organize a top drive for the families of patients and frontline workers at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Atkinson was involved in Flashes of Hope, a program that had Blue Jackets players pose for professional photo shoots with children fighting cancer or other life-threatening diseases.
"All of our foundation events, he and Natalie were involved in," Sharrock said. "Any time our foundation had a need, they were there."
Several hours before the game, Atkinson announced on Twiiter that he was making a donation to USO Ohio in honor of Military Appreciation Night.

Atkinson said he knows it will be emotional for him to return to Columbus but doesn't know what the fan reaction will be.
Sharrock has an idea.
"It'll be just 100 percent love and appreciation for the things he did here," he said. "He and Nat started to live here the last few years in the offseason too. ... We've had a few well-documented cases of guys choosing to leave and our fans take that personally. They know what we're all about here and the things we're trying to build, and Cam was a guy that always embraced all of that. It'll be nothing but love I'm sure."
Photos: Brad Spradlin, Battery Hockey Academy