Backes Leads In Blue

  For the first time since the trade of Eric Brewer to the Tampa Bay Lightning in February last season, the St. Louis Blues have themselves a captain.

  Iron man David Backes received the honor of captaincy it was announced on Friday, and deservedly so. He becomes the 20th captain of the St. Louis Blues’ organization after another solid performance in the 2010-2011 season.

"Obviously a huge honor,” Backes told the St. Luois Blues dispatch. “Some of the guys that have come before me wearing the 'C': Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky, the Plager brothers, Bernie Federko, other leaders of the team, Al MacInnis ... guys that I get to converse with and get to learn from every single day.”

"To have those guys around me and to try and follow in their footsteps, hopefully I can do a fraction of the job those guys were able to do."

  Backes does have big shoes to fill, and with a talented and energetic squad now on his clock. David Backes has however already left large prints of his own in the trail of bringing St. Louis back into serious contention. He heads into his 6th NHL season with the Blues after tying a career best in goals and assists with 31 each, and besting his points total with 62 in 82 games. The 6’3 225lbs. Minnesota native was drafted by the Blues in the 2nd round (62nd overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and has made gains in every year. In 364 career NHL games he has notched 102 goals and 218 points with a +20 rating and 500 penalty minutes.

  He made a major impression at the 2010 Olympics where he scored a huge game winning goal against Switzerland along with 2 assists and a +4 rating through 6 games, attaining the silver medal for the United States.

  Backes plays the game like a leader should with the on and off ice tools to be a great captain of this young hockey club. Backes powers to the net with great hands and on-ice vision whilst never shying away from a hit at open ice or along the boards.

  He led his team last season in nearly every category both offensively and defensively last year with 31 goals and 62 points, while also posting a league leading (among forwards) +32 rating and 213 hits – good enough for 18th in the league.

"David exemplifies everything we want as part of our team -- he's articulate and well-spoken in the room and community," General Manager Doug Armstrong told NHL.com. "He plays a style of hockey we want to be known for. He's known as a physical player, but he has the skill set to produce points. We feel he's entering the prime of his career now and he signed a five year deal with us (in November 2010). We're the team that drafted him and it seems like he's the guy who can lead us into the future."

  Backes beat out fellow Blues veterans for the honor such as Barret Jackman, Andy McDonald, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Jason Arnott. Jackman is the longest-tenured Blues player entering his 10th season, while Langenbrunner and Arnott were offseason acquisitions that look to add a great veteran presence for this young squad. Barret Jackman, Andy MacDonald, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Alex Steen were all named assistant captains for the upcoming season.

-Kendall Grubbs