David Backes had some built up frustrations from last season that he since has used as motivation to better his game.
The Boston Bruins forward, who was a healthy scratch for the final three games of the Stanley Cup Final agains his former St. Louis Blues team, had a lot of questions surrounding him when the season came to a close. Backes had a tough year, notching just seven goals with 13 assists. Many wondered if he’d even be in Black and Gold come this season.
But he’s put in the work and it’s certainly shown this preseason.
So, what fueled his fire?
“A little sand in the face at the end of last year maybe fed (my motivation) a little bit and maybe rightfully so,” Backes said, per NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty. “I think the way (the season) ended lit a fire under me this summer.”
Backes even began working with a skating coach, Katie McDonough, after he realized he couldn’t do some drills he saw 12 year olds doing.
“It was maybe the most humbled I’ve been in my entire life. It was like a mohawk, into a one-leg around this cone and then explode out, and I just couldn’t put the footsteps together. I don’t know,” Backes said. “These were little hockey players that were doing this and going around (the cones) and I was like ‘okay, I need help here.’ And I got help.”
Backes has had a strong preseason and if he can translate that into the regular season games, he’ll certainly add a threat to Boston’s offense.
