COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus is home for Cam Atkinson, who retired on Thursday as a Blue Jacket after 13 NHL seasons.

But when the Blue Jackets selected Atkinson with the 157th pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, his first reaction wasn’t excitement – it was confusion. As the undersized forward from Connecticut revealed during his emotional retirement press conference, Columbus wasn’t exactly on his radar.

“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” Atkinson told reporters on Thursday. “Obviously all my five brothers are here right now in Columbus, and I think one of my brothers (was) like, ‘Where the hell is Columbus, Ohio?’ And sure enough, we all thought the same.”

That moment of geographic bewilderment makes what followed all the more remarkable. Over the course of his career, Atkinson didn’t just play for Columbus – he became Columbus. The city transformed from an unknown destination to the place where his deepest roots would grow.

“Coming here, I remember from my first training camp and kind of engraving yourself into the city and into the community and clearly starting a family. And all three of my kids here were born at Riverside and with the Battery Hockey Academy, we have so many friends outside of the hockey world here and this is home for us, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Atkinson said.

This isn’t just the story of a hockey player who happened to spend a decade with one team. It’s about the unexpected alchemy that happens when a person finds their place in the world. For Atkinson, Columbus became much more than a workplace – it became the canvas on which he painted his life’s most meaningful chapters.

The deep bond between Atkinson and the Blue Jackets faithful was evident throughout his press conference. His voice filled with genuine emotion when discussing the supporters who embraced him through the franchise’s turbulent journey.

“I’ll keep harping on it, that the best fans and Fifth Line are some of the best loyal fans in the league,” Atkinson emphasized. “I’ve been part of some other organizations, and I’ll tell you right now that they are a special group through the ups and the downs and just happy to be able to call this place home.”

This mutual affection reached its crescendo during Columbus’ historic 2019 playoff sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning – a moment Atkinson highlighted as particularly meaningful for the fans who had endured years of disappointment.

“At the end of the day, it was our first time ever making it to the second round,” he recalled. “The fans, you know, they deserve it the most. And the tough times that they’ve had for all of us at the earlier stage when the organization started to the first five or six years that I was here in 2011-2015, and that was truly for them.”

Perhaps the most telling sign of Columbus’ importance to Atkinson came in his decision to retire as a Blue Jacket. Despite finishing his playing career with Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, Atkinson’s heart remained in Ohio, leading to a one-day contract to officially retire where it all began.

“Getting to finish my career where it all started, in a city that became home, with the fans and the people that took me and my family in as one of their own, with my family and my friends watching, it’s nothing short of a dream come true,” Atkinson said. “Thank you to the Blue Jackets organization for welcoming me back home.”

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