Atkinson reflects on rehab and progressing towards 2023-24

It wasn't supposed to be like this for Cam Atkinson.

He'd fully planned to come to camp last September and become one of the leaders of the team. It was no secret that he was the one member of the Flyers who was the most familiar with John Tortorella from their time together with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and there was every expectation that he would be one of the main conduits from the coach to the team while also building upon a 20-goal, 50-point season in his first year as a Flyer.

But when that long-awaited training camp arrived, Atkinson didn't even make it to the first preseason game. Something was wrong, and it took a long time to figure out what.

"I just didn't feel good for whatever reason, in the gym and on the ice," Atkinson said. "It kept getting worse and worse, and I was like, something's wrong."

Atkinson saw doctors in both Philadelphia and Columbus, evaluated several options, and tried various therapies. But nothing got him back to feeling right. Traditional rehabilitation methods got him back to practices with the team, but never into a game.

"It was a long process of figuring out what was going on, really." Atkinson said. "I finally went to a neuro doctor, and he told me that I had a herniated disc and recommended surgery. And that kind of just started the whole process of me trying to rehab and then realizing that I need to get surgery in order to get back to playing again.

The winger finally had the issue surgically repaired on December 21 and was given a four-month recovery timeframe. That put him right in a spot where he wouldn't make it back to action, but would be ready to start getting ready for 2023-24.

"I feel great now," he said. "I feel back to myself and selfishly, anxiously want next season to start."

However, as with many clouds, there was a silver lining. Less than two weeks after his surgery, Atkinson and his wife Natalie welcomed a daughter, Fallon Ann, into the world. She joined older brothers Caden, who's three, and Declan, who turns five in July. Because he wasn't playing, the family was rather easily able to return to Columbus so Fallon could be delivered at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where the two boys were also born and where Atkinson is very familiar with the leadership and doctors. After Caden was born just weeks into the 2020 coronavirus shutdown, Atkinson led a fundraising drive to buy COVID-19 testing equipment to help the hospital navigate what was a very uncertain time.

"A lot of ups and downs of good, bad," he said. "But I spent a lot of time with my family, which was great - time that I never would get otherwise, and I took advantage of that for sure."

So once the fall rolls around, even though the Flyers are now plenty familiar with Tortorella, Atkinson is planning to step in to the role he anticipated.

"I know what to expect out of him," Atkinson said. "And he knows what to expect out of me and just being that sounding board from the players to him and vice versa."

Above all however, Atkinson is simply looking forward to getting back out on the ice next season.

"Not being able to battle with my teammates and battle with everyone and try to change the culture here… that was probably the toughest part, was not being able to go to war with the guys," he said.

Once he's back doing that, Atkinson will be like an offseason acquisition the Flyers didn't even have to make. After a season where so many young players took a huge step forward, Atkinson is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to help the entire group make another leap.