Swede Addition
r Life for Mikael Backlund will never be the same.
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r But, the 19-year-old newcomer to the Rockets’ scene wouldn’t have it any other way. Till a few short weeks ago, Backlund had played all of his competitive hockey in his hometown of
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r Now, he’s settling in nicely with the Rockets, in a new country on a new team, in a league that’s about as different as night and day.
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r “I really like
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r “And, this is a good league to play in. It’s much faster and more intense and physical than the league I played in back home. Mainly, it’s a much faster pace that I had to adjust to.”
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r So far, in his 13 games, Backlund has scored 5 goals and added 8 assists. Not overwhelming, but considering the upheaval, pretty fair. Furthermore, he’s been dynamite on a line with Cody Almond and fellow newcomer, Ian Duval – a unit that presents a major dilemma to opponents who once knew if they shut down the exploits of Kelowna’s Colin Long-Jamie Benn duo, they’d be in for a good night.
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r “It feels really good playing with those guys (Almond and Duval),” says Backlund. “They’re both really skilled players and we’ve had good chemistry from the start.”
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r Indeed, the best is yet to come for Backlund and his new line mates. All three possess the individual attributes that combined to produce goals – albeit in differing quantities. Duval brings great speed while Almond is noted for his quick release. Backlund has soft hands and outstanding on-ice vision.
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r But, in watching the smooth Swede play, you get the sense that he’s merely scratching the surface of his immense talents. His shot is one weapon that’s caught more than one unsuspecting goalie off guard.
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r In scoring the overtime winner vs. Everett last week, Backlund displayed his shot’ s NHL-ready release and velocity in ripping the twine as the home crowd erupted. During another game, he drilled one off the cross-bar with the ricochet sailing back out over the glass and landing in the last few rows of seats, near the blue-line, behind the visitors’ penalty box!
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“I started working on my shot about 3 years ago,” says the polite and soft-spoken Backlund. “I take lots of shots in the summer and I work on it each day after practice.”
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r It didn’t take Head Coach, Ryan Huska, long to spot Backlund’s deadly shot. Since then, he’s been prodding his young star to use it at any and all opportunities. In turn, it didn’t take Backlund long to heed that and other advice from his new coach.
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r “We have really good coaches here,” he says. “They want me to play good in the defensive zone and pay attention to positioning. But, I have the freedom on offence. And, they told me to shoot the puck, rather than always look for a pass.”
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r “When I came here, I didn’t know whether the coaches would be like Mike Keenan (Flames’ Coach) or more like the ones I played for in
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r Speaking of Keenan, it’s for him whom Backlund hopes to play full time sometime soon. He was selected in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft by
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r “It was awesome playing the NHL game,” he said. “I was so happy to get a chance to play, even for one game. It was the best day of my life, a dream come true.”
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r To relive that dream Backlund knows what he has to work on.
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r “I have to be more consistent in my play. Consistency is the main thing – I have to play good all the time. I also need to be quicker with my first stride, be stronger physically and become better in the defensive zone.”
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r Watching Backlund play is a real treat. And, you can see that home fans clearly recognize and appreciate that. The delightful vision of him in full flight, gliding down the ice before landing a soft pass on the stick of an open team mate or letting fly with his turbo-powered shot seems surreal.
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r Mikael might long for the quiet days of yore and their comfortable surroundings. But, he can always go back to
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r In the meantime, he has so much to accomplish in his ‘
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