Follow the leaders: With Blues, it's Backes and their four alternate captains
ST. LOUIS -- Veteran forward Steve Ott still remembers the flood of welcoming text messages from Blues leadership -- guys he'd battled against and "had hatred with," as he put it -- the night he got traded to the organization last season from the Buffalo Sabres.
He remembers the first time he was invited to dinner with his new teammates, when around 10 of them grabbed a meal together on the road in Phoenix. The dinner itself wasn't unusual -- Ott had often done the same for new teammates during his time in the NHL -- but the overall welcome still made an impression.
"A ton of text messages welcoming, kind of that making a guy feel welcomed right away, is probably the best thing you can do for a teammate," Ott says, "knowing that you're gonna have to be going to battle with this guy, and you want him on your side as fast as possible."
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong believes it's the responsibility of team leadership to ensure new players are integrated into the room as soon as possible. That usually starts with a call from team captain David Backes, like the one defenseman Robert Bortuzzo got when he was traded from Pittsburgh to St. Louis this March.
"That was nice, to hear from a leader like that," Bortuzzo says. "Obviously, I have a lot of respect for his game."
As the Blues prepare to enter the Stanley Cup playoffs, their success on ice reflects the work of their leadership corps over the past eight months to maintain a healthy locker room environment, where guys can enjoy playing hockey and still be held accountable for their performance.
This season, as it did last year, the Blues' official leadership group consists of Backes and four alternate captains: Alexander Steen, Alex Pietrangelo, T.J. Oshie and Barret Jackman, who played his 800th game with the Blues this April. While Backes, in his fourth season as captain, handles most of the day-to-day items with coaches and management, everyone else has his own niche.
Steen is methodical, logic-based, and wants to talk through everything. Jackman can strike a serious tone, and brings an old-school type mentality. Pietrangelo is quiet, though Jackman says he'll break the ice on occasion. And Oshie, well ... Oshie is more of a free spirit. And he's always smiling.
"You need a little free spirit," Backes says of the leadership dynamics. "He works his butt off, so you've gotta have a guy like that, that does everything that you ever expect him to do."
In fact, Oshie is probably the least vocal member of the group, but his presence ensures their meetings will be fun. He and Jackman tend to be the emotional, when-they-give-their-two-cents-make-it-count personalities. Pietrangelo, meanwhile, is obsessed with the schedule: what the schedule is, what time the team is practicing, what time everyone is leaving.
"Pietro's crazy about the schedule," Backes says, in a bewildered tone. "I'm just like, I don't really ... like, if you want to worry about that, go take it."
"Yeah," the captain jokes, "if we really need a clown."
It's up to Backes to keep the group objective and ensure its decisions are good for the whole team. He's culled his leadership model from firsthand observations in the room watching other leaders, other times studying from afar. He's made note of the good examples, and what to avoid. He's also worked with coach Ken Hitchcock and read books on team leadership and team building.
"There's a couple books that we've read that have helped kind of keep us on the same terminology and things during the year," says Backes, who also emphasizes leadership by example.
This season, Hitchcock credits the leadership group with striking the correct balance in the room between the on- and off-ice obligations of professional athletes.
"I think that's the best job I've seen a group do in a long, long time, is they know the difference between the entertainment part when you're selling the sport, you're selling the game, and then you have to compete," Hitchcock says. "They have really done a great job in drawing the balance so the team can remain focused. You've got great guys who are really involved in the community, who really are involved in every aspect of this city, but there comes a time when they've got to draw that back and focus on playing, and I think they've drawn a great balance now. They've really matured in that area."
Hitchcock also thinks the group has done a good job staying accountable in their on-ice performance, and demanding the same accountability from teammates. The Blues have significant team depth this year, which means that even guys who are playing well may find themselves as healthy scratches. While it may not be possible for everyone to stay happy, it is possible for them to stay professional and ready to play -- and that's a mentality the Blues have worked to build.
"There's a specific mentality and a culture here that you're going to be ready when it is your turn because of injury, because of somebody else falling off a little bit," Backes says. "If you see that not happening, there's a correction to be made, but most of the time we're professionals, and our mentality's been in the right spot. And not that it always has been, but it's something that's been built in here and now we do have that culture."
You can follow Elisabeth Meinecke on Twitter at @lismeinecke or email her at ecmeinecke@gmail.com.
