After being talked up as a Swedish phenom that even Darryl Sutter couldn't ignore, I was sure expecting some Sedin type magic from him, and that never did materialize. So I didn't appreciate him for a long time. But the last X number of years, I don't know just when, I think he embraced a different role and excelled at it. That role is the reason he doesn't play with elite scoring wingers - he's not an elite scoring center. He's a hell of a hard worker, a bit of a badass, and a really smart player. He controls play, but not by being so tricky and dangerous. He controls it by being impossible to play against.
What I appreciate about Backlund is that in the middle of a game, you'll see him battling like hell on the boards, holding a puck still while his team-mates get a line change in, that kind of thing. Just extra effort in smart little areas.
That's why it was so weird to watch him play just totally awful in the first few games this year, it just seemed like he was not tuned in at all. Thankfully it looks fixed and he looks not just competent but actually a little dangerous.
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