Is there a red-letter day in Backlund’s future?
Veteran Flames winger says he’d be honoured to have a leadership role
As he studied their shots, as he marvelled at their moves, Mikael Backlund realized at a young age that many of his boyhood idols had something else in common.
A letter stitched on their NHL uniforms.
“I always dreamed of, first of all, just playing in the NHL, but I also dreamed of being a leader,” said Backlund, now entering his ninth full campaign with the Calgary Flames and seemingly rarin’ to go after tying for tops on the team with seven points — a short-handed goal and six helpers — during pre-season action.
“Looking up to the great Swedish players, they always wore letters on their jersey. You’d notice it with (Peter) Forsberg, (Nicklas) Lidstrom, (Markus) Naslund, (Mats) Sundin, (Daniel) Alfredsson, just to name a few. There has been other guys, too. They’ve always been a good example and good role models for us younger Swedish players.
“Not to mention the Sedin twins. Just look at how they were treated when they retired last season and how guys celebrated them. Some great Swedish role models have been playing in this league and have worn letters in this league.”
Backlund doesn’t boast the Hockey Hall of Fame credentials of those he rattled off, but the 29-year-old centre seems like a good bet to join their company in the letter-wearing ranks.
The Flames hinted at some of their final roster decisions Sunday, exposing a hat trick of bubble boys — forwards Curtis Lazar and Anthony Peluso and defenceman Brett Kulak — on waivers. All three must clear before they could be demoted to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat, although the club could still choose to keep them around.
Among the hopefuls who don’t require waivers to be reassigned to the farm are forwards Dillon Dube and AndrewMangiapane, blue-liners Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki and goalie Jon Gilles.
While they whittle their roster to 23, also on the Flames’ to-do list before Wednesday’s lid-lifter against the suddenly Sedin-less Vancouver Canucks is to finalize their leadership posse.
They are down an alternate captain after Troy Brouwer’s contract buyout.
It’s certainly telling that Backlund was rocking an “A” in every one of his five pre-season appearances.
The other top candidate to join Mark Giordano and Sean Monahan in an official letter-wearing capacity is rising-star left-winger Matthew Tkachuk, a heart-onhis-sleeve sort who many expect will some day serve as Calgary’s captain.
It wouldn’t be a shocker if the Flames name both Backlund and Tkachuk as alternates, likely in a home-road split. (In that case, does the 3M Line become the 2A Line?)
Tkachuk, who also took a couple of turns as an alternate captain during the exhibition slate, has leadership in his bloodlines. His father, Keith, sported the “C” for the Winnipeg Jets and later the Phoenix Coyotes.
Keith’s snarky son is still only 20, but on many nights the heartbeat of the Flames thumps as No. 19 does. If Calgary’s higher-ups could clone the fearless forward, they’d order at least two more of him.
Backlund, meanwhile, has grown into his role as both an examplesetter and a go-to guy at the Saddledome. Thesecond-line centre is not a rah-rah type, but teammates and coaches often rave about his work ethic and professionalism.
When Brouwer or Monahan missed time due to injury during the 2017-18 campaign, it was No. 11 with an “A” on his chest.
Backlund was also selected to captain Swedenat the world championship last spring, helping his squad to an undefeated record, a gold-medal celebration and an invite to be wined and dined at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
“I’ve been on and off having the ‘A’ in Calgary, but to actually be the captain, it was new to me,” Backlund said. “But I was very excited about it, very honoured. I just had to embrace it and take on an even bigger role.
“I had to go outside the box a little bit, do things that I maybe haven’t been comfortable doing before, but it was a good challenge for me and I think it definitely improved me as a player and person.”
Perhaps this winter, a young kid in Stockholm or Malmo or his own hometown, Vasteras, will be watching NHL highlights and notice that Backlund has a letter stitched over his heart and just north of that Flaming C logo.
“It’s been a really cool feeling and I’m very proud to have been wearing it for the pre-season,” Backlund said. “I think everyone wants to be a leader on their team. If I’m going to wear it full-time, I would be honoured to and happy to.”