Fowler: 'It's all love on my side' in return to Anaheim with Blues on Friday

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – For the first time in his 15-year NHL career, Cam Fowler will have to pull his body out of the left turn he would’ve made hundreds of times before when the St. Louis Blues’ bus arrives at Honda Center on Friday.

He’ll likely still get a friendly welcome from the arena staff, but he’ll be guided down a hallway that Fowler said he never once walked down in his 14-plus years as an Anaheim Duck to the visiting locker room.

“Luckily, it's the same place that we used to park for our games, so I'm familiar with that,” Fowler said of the loading zone. “Being on the other side of everything and not walking into the home locker room set up and that's all gonna be super weird for me.”

After 991 games as an Anaheim Duck, from being drafted at No. 12 overall in 2010 and making his debut as a boyish 18-year-old living under Scott Niedermayer’s roof to becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in points by a defenseman and second in games played for the club, Fowler was traded from Anaheim to St. Louis on Dec. 14.

Fowler went on to play his 1,000th NHL game in the Winter Classic on Dec. 31, where he scored two goals in a Blues win at Wrigley Field. The timing continued to be serendipitous for the 33-year-old, as the schedule aligned for Fowler to be honored for that mark when the Ducks came to St. Louis on Jan. 9.

Now on Friday, Fowler will make his return to Honda Center, where he will be once again recognized for his contributions to the organization in what has come together as a huge game for both team’s playoff trajectories.

“You know, I haven't thought too much about it,” Fowler said about what his reception will be. “I hope it's a warm welcome from everybody. I spent 14 years there, and I was happy and honored to be a Duck for all those years, and I appreciated the fans and the organization. 

“I hope it's all love from everyone. It's all love on my side. I am grateful for the opportunity I had, so I'm gonna try and go in with no expectations and try and soak it all in as best I can.”

Fowler got what he hoped for when he waived his no-trade clause to move to St. Louis. The veteran defenseman has scored seven goals and added 12 assists in 33 games as a Blue, as St. Louis (30-27-6, 66 points) has climbed within two points of the final wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Ducks have also gotten what they–and Fowler–hoped they’d get with his departure, as Fowler’s trade–along with the trade of Brian Dumoulin to New Jersey on Thursday–have opened up the left side of the Ducks defense for young players to rise like Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger.

“I've always been passionate about the game, and I've always been energized to play the game,” Fowler said, “but sometimes you get to a certain point in your career as a player, just for both sides, it might make sense to find a situation that works better. Anytime you come into a new environment, you wanna make a great impression on the people that believed in you.”

Anaheim (27-27-7, 61 points) has also found its own surge to five points behind the Blues and seven points out of the Western Conference wild card. Friday’s game is an enormous game for both sides, as Fowler’s team of the past and team of the now collide.

“Trying to focus here on our guys as much as I can, and we're just really taking it game by game,” Fowler said, “but with everything wrapped up in it with me, it's gonna be hard to treat it just as a normal game, but I'm gonna do the best I can.”

St. Louis is in Southern California for an odd sandwich of games. The Blues played in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and after playing in Anaheim on Friday, St. Louis will be back up in Los Angeles on Saturday for another game against the Kings.

The schedule means the Blues are staying up in L.A. and practiced at the Kings’ facility in El Segundo on Thursday. The logistics of getting down to Orange County, plus with the Ducks being on the road travelling back from Vancouver on Thursday and no morning skate at Honda Center for the Blues on Friday, means that Fowler won’t get any outside facetime with his former teammates before Friday’s game.

The lack of a dinner with old friends doesn’t mean Fowler and the Ducks players haven’t kept tabs on each other.

“Oh yeah, I still talk to those guys regularly, check in on everybody,” Fowler said. “You know, I've made some amazing friendships there that will last a long time. Always wish those guys the best, and we talk to each other once or twice a week and just catch up.

“It’s hard during the course of a season to stay on top of communicating with those guys, but we do a good job of checking in with each other and ask about the families and the kids and all that stuff.”

Whatever happens between puck drop and the final whistle on Friday, Anaheim was and will continue to be a special place for Fowler, and the fans will most likely let him know it.

“It's gonna be fun, emotional. Some nerves about the whole thing too,” Fowler said, “but overall, I think it's just gonna be a fun experience for me to get back (to a) place I spent a lot of years in and see all my friends.

“I'm just gonna try and take it all in and handle it the best way I can.”