ST. LOUIS – Cam Fowler has been around the NHL long enough and develop relationships long enough with fellow players to know how special 1,000 games played means.
He’s seen friends and foes go through it, the honors, the accolades, having family and friends there by their side, but for it to happen to him one day, well …
“I never imagined that that would be me standing up there one day,” Fowler said earlier on Thursday, before the St. Louis Blues took on his former team, the Anaheim Ducks, on a night in which Fowler was honored for playing in 1,000 games. “I’m very grateful for that and thankful for that and that I had my family here with me.
“Those tributes and when I saw guys with their young kids and their parents out there being recognized for an accomplishment, I always found myself just admiring it and being so happy for those guys. It’s really weird to be on the other side of it honestly. But I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
There the defenseman was, standing on the carpet with his wife Jasmine, son Charlie, parents Perry and Bridget and Jasmine’s mom, receiving a gift from the Blues, a poster of his reaction at the 2025 Discover NHL Winter Classic – his 1,000th game – scoring the opening goal of a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks along with a crystal commemorative piece, then getting a gift from his former Ducks teammates, a Rolex watch, followed by getting a silver stick from Ducks GM Pat Verbeek, who traded Fowler to the Blues on Dec. 14.
Fowler, who spent 14-plus seasons with Anaheim and 991 of his now 1,004 NHL games, would be his opponent for the first time. Plenty of friends on the other side, the No. 12 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft was looking at the Ducks logo from the opposite side for the first time. Of course it would be strange.
“I don’t want to put any expectations on it,” Fowler said before the game. “I kind of want to approach it like I would any other game. If I need to glance over there and share a smile with some guys, then I will. It’s a unique experience that’s only going to happen once, so I want to appreciate the moment. They are my good friends and I happen to be playing against them. That part’s going to be weird, but we’re all going through it together. I want to experience that too as much as I can.”
Fowler had an assist and was a plus-2 in 20:26 of ice time. There were no dramatic finishes, just a 6-2 Blues win that got things off on the right foot in a four-game homestand.
Many of the Ducks called the 33-year-old Fowler a mentor, someone that lived and breathed hockey in Southern California that now had to view him from the opposite side, and for a team rebuilding, couldn’t be happier for him.
“He’s someone a lot of guys looked up to,” Ducks center Ryan Strome said. ‘He’s someone that their presence is never going to be really replaced, but he did a lot of good things here for a lot of years. I know he knows, but he should be very proud for what he accomplished here.
“The best thing about a hockey player is you can go have a beer with him or talk to him after the game. I think he’s no different. I think he wouldn’t want anyone to not play the way they’re capable of just because it’s him.”
Added Ducks captain Radko Gudas, “He’s one of the best teammates I ever had. He’s one of the greatest defenders I’ve played with. There’s a reason why. He spent such a long time in Anaheim and was a big part of their success throughout the last decade. As selfish as I hate to see him go, I love that he’s finding a new home and he’s doing well. He’s scoring some goals. … His play just shows what he meant to us. He was a mentor for the young guys and the way he carried himself as a professional and his professionalism. The last few years since I’ve been there, I’ve got nothing but great words for him.”
The Ducks parted ways with Fowler because they need to play and evaluate younger defensemen. The Blues acquired him because they wanted and needed his veteran presence while trying to stay competitive as well as groom younger players also.
According to Ducks coach Greg Cronin, he’s not surprised by Fowler’s early success in St. Louis, and he will find a way to make the Blues a better team for it.
“First of all he’s a great person, a great human being,” Cronin said. “He was in an awkward situation. When you go through a rebuild, those older guys, they want to hold onto their careers, they want to hold onto the roles they had in the past. But these young guys have are coming through and management wants to see them gets some reps in those positions, in those roles. I thought Cam handled it honorably. The young guys point to him about his mentorship to them. He’s just a classy human being, and those are qualities any team would want, whether he’s wearing a letter or not.
“No, I’m not surprised because he’s been a power-play guy his whole career. He didn’t get the power play time that he wanted in Anaheim and there was a reason behind it, which is to see the young kids play in those positions. I’m sure when he got here and he was given that role, I know Monty has him on the first unit. He’s got the offensive skills to make a power play good and a lot of defensemen get their points on the power play. It doesn’t surprise me.
“He’s a great skater. He’s not a fast, twitchy skater like [Owen] Zellweger is or [Cale] Makar is, but he’s a great, stable skater. He sees the ice really well, he’s patient with the puck. I think he’s got a calmness to him that an older team would really rely on. Defensively, he’s alert. He’s aware of things. He knows what his weaknesses are and his strengths are. He’s a big guy, he’s 215 pounds, he can block out well. He’s just an all-around good player. Some players are really elite in certain things. I think Cam’s really good in a lot of of things.”
Fowler’s adjusted accordingly on the ice with the Blues, but as far as adjusting to St. Louis, he’s trying to juggle that aspect while keeping the Blues competitive, and it’s been a challenge.
“There’s been parts that have been difficult and other parts that have been amazing,” Fowler said. “I think the professional side of it and getting to know these guys and the way they’ve welcomed me into the locker room has been an incredible feeling for me. I was nervous about that. I played for one team, I was comfortable there and I was coming into a new situation with a new leadership group. I can’t say enough nice things how these guys have welcomed me. That part’s been amazing. I think the challenge is the family side of it, trying to get my wife and my boy out here so that we can all be together again. We’ve spent some nights in the hotel here together, but that’s just not the same until you kind of put some roots down and find a place here. Hopefully in the next month or so, we’ll get that handled, but that’s been the biggest challenge so far.”
Changing teams so late in one’s career can be tough, but according to Blues coach Jim Montgomery, there have been no issues. In fact, Fowler has been implemented into the Blues’ most important aspects to their team game and playing high-end minutes.
“I think he’s done really well with change,” Montgomery said. “Change is not easy for anybody in their lives. It’s not the way we’re wired. We like routine as human beings. Sometimes though change, even though you didn’t know it would help, it actually provides another spark in your life. I think we’re seeing that with him. His excitement to be at the rink, the smile on his face while he’s playing the game. He’s showing more emotion than I’ve seen when I was coaching against him.”
But this change was obviously necessary. The Ducks aren’t close to winning. They’re in the here and the now with developing their prospects and younger players, and that’s OK. It’s something Fowler came to grips with, and the reason why change was not only necessary, but in this case, good.
“It comes to a certain point as a player, you’re going to have to take a leap of faith and understand you only have so many years in this league,” Fowler said. “It just got to a point where I think maybe a fresh start would be beneficial for me as hard of a decision as that was. Things have to line up. It has to line up for me, it has to line up for the team. I think sometimes change can be good. So far it’s been nice for me, but there’s a lot of challenges that come with it as well, so it’s been a balancing act.
“I had amazing memories and times in Anaheim. I felt like maybe professionally, it was time for a fresh start and when you get that opportunity, even if it’s later on in your career, it can give you a little bit of a jolt and pump some energy back into you. I think that’s what it’s done for me. As challenging as it is, and as challenging of a decision as it was, I think the thought behind it was trying to re-energize me in my second half of my career and so far, I’ve been able to do that.”
The fact that the first game against the Ducks in St. Louis softened the blow a bit of doing it in Anaheim and the Honda Center. But that moment will come on March 7 and should present a different kind of emotion.
“I think when that opportunity comes, being in the other dressing room there at the Honda Center, I think that’s going to be the weirdest part,” Fowler said. “The hockey side of it and playing on the other side of those guys is going to be weird tonight and a challenge certainly, but going back to the Honda Center and going back as a visitor is going to be a whole different kind of wave of emotion, so that will have to be another challenge and something that will have to be prepared for when that time comes.”
