David Backes wants to be a part of the Boston Bruins and the Boston community.
The Boston Bruins biggest move so far this offseason was the signing of forward David Backes. Backes will likely be taking over a top-line position with the Black and Gold. The 32-year old came to Boston for his first official trip this week and did a lot of things that new Bruins do. He went to Fenway Park and even through out a first pitch.
Backes has been an animal lover all his life. He currently has four dogs and two cats in his family. So it’s not that unsurprising that the former St. Louis captain spent some time with the ASPCA while he was in Boston.
“It’s awesome to see that there’s such great work going on – and you know it’s going on country-wide,” said Backes according to the Boston Bruins’ website of his visit to the animal shelter.
“But to get a tour of the facility like this, you see the expansion, the growth in the past few years…It gives you a warm feeling inside and really makes us feel like we’re part of the city already, that we could come here and bring a little attention to the great work that they’re doing.”
It looks like Backes is already taking a sense of ownership in Boston. That’s a great way to introduce yourself to Boston’s blue-collar fan base. Backes jumped in with both feet, and is already starting to put down roots in Beantown.
“Hopefully,” continued Backes. “This will just be the beginning to us connecting with the community and helping serve the people that are great fans of the Bruins, that are going to watch us every night and watch us into a deep playoff run year after year.”
This is the kind of player the Bruins have needed. He’s an experienced player who wants to do everything he can to bring another Stanley Cup back home to Boston. He felt that he made the right choice once he had a conversation with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand before and after joining the team.
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“Talking to a little bit during the interview process before July 1, I hung up the phone and kind of had to take a deep breath and say, ‘Is that the little disturber, pain-in-the-butt? He’s actually a pretty good guy,” said Backes of Boston’s Little Ball of Hate.
“A guy like Bergeron, you play against him, he’s just always in the right spot and never making mistakes. Those types of guys are guys you want on your team, guys that you love to go to war with.”
The St.Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins have one big thing in common. They’re both teams that put no one player above the team. There are no superstars among the B’s and Blues, just players who want to do whatever it takes to win.
“Those things just rang true to my beliefs as a team, that we’re all equals, whether you’re the top-paid guy, or the top-minute guy, or the low-minute guy, or a guy that’s playing every other game and a healthy scratch the other games,” said Backes.
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“We all need to be treated as equals and do whatever we can to support the next guy. And when the next guy has success, we’ve got to be just as happy as though we scored the goal.
“That’s the type of thing that when you’ve got that from a full 20 guys on the ice it’s so tough to beat. Those are the teams that win championships.”