St. Louis Blues forward David Backes take over as team captain –NHL offseason Update
David Backes, a veteran forward player of St. Louis Blues, finally took over as the teams’ 20th captain officially on Friday, September 9, an honour which he has been trying hard to achieve since he first season during 2006-2007.
Finally having gotten the opportunity, Backes has vowed that St. Louis will not remain the same either as team in the National Hockey League (NHL) and in terms of performance on the ice. For him, this is truly a once in a lifetime test whether to see he
really is capable of performing in tight situations and take his team to a whole new level.
St. Louis Blues vice president of hockey operations, Al MacInnis, made the announcement and vested in faith in Backes’ abilities.
"He's a guy that's provided leadership over the past couple of years and has certainly matured and grown into that role. He's the type of guy that can provide leadership in different ways on and off the ice", MacInnis said. "Whether it's setting up a goal,
scoring a goal, being a physical presence out there, he can provide leadership in different ways, which not a lot of guys can do in the game today. I think he's a nice fit and definitely the right choice".
After learning about the announcement, Backes assured that his team had not made the wrong decision and plans on proving his point.
"It's something I thought I'd always be proud to do and hopefully do a good job", Backes said.
David Backes was selected 62nd overall during round-two of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by St. Louis Blues. The right winger has played five consecutive seasons with St. Louis thus far and has slowly but gradually improved his performance in every
possible aspect. From registering 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in his first season, Backes has risen and potted an impressive 62 points (31 goals, 31 assists) last season in all 82 games played.
Seeing how the Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States native, has grown over the years, St. Louis Blues have high hopes vested in him and being a team that is seriously lagging behind others, it is a make it or break it situation.
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