It’s hard to imagine a tougher pill to swallow than what David Backes endured in June. The Boston Bruins gritty forward found himself facing the St. Louis Blues - a team he used to be captain for - in the Stanley Cup Final… and lost.
Oof, it doesn’t get much tougher than that. Maybe that’s what inspired Backes to have a thorough offseason, or maybe it was a bunch of 12-year-old girls.
According to Joe McDonald of The Athletic, Backes told him that he was having trouble keeping up with a class of 12-year-old figure skaters. Instead of cutting to the dressing room early pretending like it never happened, Backes just went ahead and hired the coach.
Kudos to Backes for learning from his failures, and if it’s made him a better player it’s certainly not something he has to be embarrassed about.
Maybe that’s the extra step the Bruins need to take home the Cup this season?
