Mikael Backlund had a front-row seat as one of his former teammates — his predecessor, in fact, as captain of the Calgary Flames — captured one of the NHL’s marquee individual awards in his mid-30s.
He watched from afar as one of his favourite athletes enjoyed an extended run as one of the top soccer strikers on the planet, continuing to kick his way into the record books when he was supposed to be a fading star.
Backlund, now 35 and sharing the ice at Flames training camp with a few kids who are barely half his age, is trying to follow that lead.
“You look at Gio (Mark Giordano) winning the Norris Trophy at 35 … He’s always been a role model for me that way that he really peaked above his 30s, in the second half of his career,” Backlund said. “And then one of my biggest idols is Zlatan Ibrahimovic and same thing, he played until he was 40 and was still playing so well. He was in incredible shape and a tremendous soccer player and he was at his best after 30s, too.
“He said he just never aged, you know? So I kind of look up to him that way.”
Age eventually catches up with every professional athlete, but some do manage to stave off the slow-down, to delay any drop-off and to prolong their prime.
Like Giordano did. The grizzled defenceman was the oldest skater in the league last season, although he has yet to land a contract for this coming campaign.
“You just know that, around 30s, your career can go both ways,” Backlund said. “You know it’s easier to get injured and it’s harder on your body to play when you get above 30. Everybody is different, but that’s kind of when you start to think about it and when people are talking about it a little bit.
“In the sports world, 30 is that number where you start to feel like you’re not young anymore.”
Backlund is not a kid anymore and there will be constant reminders of that over the next few weeks as he tracks toward a milestone moment. If all goes according to plan, he’ll skate in his 1,000th career NHL game in late October.
This will mark Backlund’s 15th season with the Flames, the franchise that made him their first-round pick in 2007. The headliners in Calgary’s latest draft class — defenceman Zayne Parekh and winger Matvei Gridin — were born in 2006.
The impressive thing is while Backlund checked in for training camp as the oldest guy on the roster, he also checked in as the fittest. He topped the charts in the annual testing results.
“That, to me, says a ton about him and his leadership ability and his willingness to continue year after year to keep that grind up,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said in praise of the captain.
“Obviously, on the ice is what matters the most, but I take a lot of pride in that and put a lot of work in every summer,” said Backlund, who was the runner-up last fall for the ‘Fittest Flame’ title. “I’ve always pushed myself to become better. So to be able to win it, it makes you feel good. It’s like a little pat on the shoulder, that you did a good job during the summer and that age doesn’t matter and you still can improve on things.
“I feel proud of myself to be up there, regardless of my age. Now being the captain too, it feels good that I can show the right way.”
That last part shouldn’t be overlooked.
While Backlund averaged 19:14 per night during the 2023-24 campaign, the heaviest workload of his career, the Flames someday will need to replace No. 11 as their shutdown centre and a first-over-the-boards penalty-killer. Sure, he’ll do his darnedest to power this current crew to what would be a surprise playoff berth in the spring of 2025 — they are, to their credit, a perfect 3-0 in exhibition action so far — but there is no guarantee that he’ll still be around for the light-at-the-end-tunnel phase.
He’s determined, however, to play some of his best hockey of his career at 35 and beyond. He points to his pal Gio and his idol Ibrahimovic as sources of inspiration. He realizes their staying power wasn’t any sort of fluke.
“I see a really driven guy right now,” Huska said of Backlund, who collected a pair of assists in the home half of Monday’s split-squad sweep of the Edmonton Oilers. “And I know since he got the ‘C’ on his chest last year, he takes things personally, whether that be his play or how the team is playing. I think that just gives him that much more push from behind to make sure that he is doing everything he can possibly do to set the right example for our team. And I think that’s really what it has come down to.
“He understands where he is career-wise. I mean, he’s not saying he has 10 years, or anything like that, left. So I think he feels what he does on the ice and away from the ice really matters because he knows that it sets the right example for a lot of people.
“I think that’s part of the legacy that he wants to leave.”
ICE CHIPS: The Flames enjoyed a day off on Tuesday. They’ll continue their exhibition slate Wednesday, sending a squad to Abbotsford, B.C., for a clash with the Vancouver Canucks.