A healthy love
Grateful Backes gets Masterton nod
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — No kid grows up playing hockey dreaming of being a Masterton Trophy winner.
The award is given each year to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.” Those who are nominated for it tend to appreciate it, as David Backes does. And there might be no better candidate for the award this year than Backes, not only for what he’s endured throughout this trying season but also for the way he’s maintained his positive outlook through it all.
Backes was troubled by diverticulitis and missed the first five games of the season and would need surgery to remove part of his colon. He was expected to miss two months. He missed one.
“My situation and my health have been mostly out of my control, but you take the situation in front of you and I believe it’s 20 percent what happens to you and 80 percent how you respond to it,” said Backes, saying he was honored to be the Boston hockey writers’ chapter nominee for the award. “I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by good doctors, good people, family and support praying for me to get better and I was fortunate enough to get back on the ice quicker than expected and to be a member of a team that’s doing good things this year.”
Backes has always been a terrific ambassador for the game, but the surgery and subsequent recovery highlighted just how important the game is to him.
“What comes to mind first is your health. You’re having a surgery and they’re disconnecting your plumbing and putting it back together again. If you have leaks or, if I didn’t have the surgery and you’re getting the wall of your colon bursting and you’re getting spillage into your stomach cavity, it could be life threatening or potentially life-ending issues. That wasn’t taken lightly, getting my health back in order,” said Backes. “While you’re sitting in the hospital, you’re watching the guys play and I think it was a moment in my career where I was missing the most time and it hit me how much I love the game and I wanted to be back on the ice and be with my teammates. It was a little glimpse into how much I’ll miss it when my career does end. I wanted to get refocused, enjoy every moment, whether it’s good or bad, adversity, whatever comes, knowing that it’s making you a stronger person because you’re facing adversity or you’re having triumphs and you want to relish those and you want to enjoy it with the group of guys you’re going to battle with.”
Backes is out of the lineup after his leg was gashed by a skate blade. The team made its annual trip to play the Wild in St. Paul, Minn., not far from Backes’ hometown of North Oaks.
“My mom made dinner and 14 guys took Ubers to come 25 minutes to my house and have a home cooked meal from my mom,” said Backes. “It was a really special moment in my career to have that many guys care that much and care about each other to make that trek. Hopefully that bodes well for our future.”
His mother made lasagna and his wife a kale salad.
“It was my old man’s 65th birthday that day, so he got sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to by 14 of my teammates,” beamed Backes. “It was a really cool day.”