Photography by Mark Buckner/St. Louis Blues
Blues captain David Backes is a busy dude. In February, he skated for Team USA in the Olympics, and this month, he leads the locals toward the playoffs, hunting the ever-elusive Stanley Cup. In between, he finds time to fly planes, rescue animals, and serve as the face of the franchise in the community.
How did you get into aviation? My grandfather was a gunner in World War II, and my wife’s grandfather flew floatplanes in Minnesota for the majority of his life, so flying has been in the family. I had never gone up and thought it was over my abilities until Ty Conklin was signed by the Blues. He was a pilot and had his own plane. He saw my interest and set me up with my first lesson. Since then, I’ve been hooked.
What about your animal-rescue work? When we came to St. Louis and were trying to assimilate with the community, doing something that we love and giving back, it seemed like animal rescue was a great way to do that. My wife and I got involved, first with St. Charles Humane Society, which turned into Five Acres Animal Shelter. Now, we’ve started our own organization, called Athletes for Animals. All of the euthanasia that happens to healthy, good pets will hopefully become a thing of the past.
You have quite a few pets of your own. They keep us busy. Coming home to an empty house is a pretty empty feeling. When we’ve got four dogs and two cats there to welcome us, someone’s always happy to see you, no matter if you’ve had a good or bad day. They love unconditionally.
You’re a versatile player. I pride myself on helping the team win. If that is a goal needing to be scored, if the right play is to dish the puck for someone else to score, or if it’s shutting down the other team’s best player on a given night, I’m willing to do that. This team is built on doing what it takes to win games and sacrificing individual success for team success. That’s my mentality when I go to the rink.
Is this finally the year for the Blues? If I were a fortuneteller and I knew that, the rest of the work we’re going to put in would be for naught. With the group of guys we have and our abilities and some of the lessons we’ve learned in the past few years, we feel we’re well-equipped to make a great run. But winning the Stanley Cup is the toughest trophy in the world for a reason, and that’s because it’s grueling and a lot of things can get in our way.
