Men's Hockey | 7/27/2015 8:55:00 AM

               Mankato, Minn. ---  Captain of the St. Louis Blues and former Minnesota State Maverick men's hockey forward - David Backes - announced Monday at the school's Annual Blue Line Club Dan Meyer Golf Classic that he and his wife Kelly are donating $100,000 to Minnesota State Athletics that will serve as the lead gift in completing the David Backes Strength and Conditioning Room in the newly-remodeled Maverick Hockey wing at Verizon Wireless Center.

Backes, who has played nine full seasons in the National Hockey League, has served as team captain for the Blues since 2011. Selected by St. Louis in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2003 NHL draft, he made his NHL debut Dec. 19, 2006 when he suited up for St. Louis in a game at Pittsburgh. The Blaine, Minn., native is a two-time member of the United States men's hockey Olympic Team where he won a silver medal in 2010.

He played collegiately for Minnesota State from 2003-06 where he totalled 46 goals and 73 assists  for 119 points in 115 games. Named an All-American in his last season with the Mavericks in 2005-06, Backes was named 2005-06 All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association Second Team, was a member of the 2004-05 All-WCHA Third Team and a member of the 2003-04 WCHA All-Rookie Team. The two-time WCHA All-Academic selection was a two-time team MVP and two-time team scoring champion. Backes, who graduated from Minnesota State with a degree in Organizational Studies in 2014, was named First Team Academic All-American in 2005-06. He served as Minnesota State's captain in 2005-06.

"I had a fantastic college hockey experience at Minnesota State and thanks to my coaches and support staff, I learned the value of hard work, teamwork and life skills," Backes said.  "These skills helped me tremendously as I prepared for my career in the NHL. As a thank you to everyone at Minnesota State who has assisted me on my collegiate journey, we wanted to donate something back that would make a difference and help ensure the long-term success of the program."

"Today's announcement is indicative of the kind of people David and Kelly Backes are," said Mike Hastings, head coach of the Minnesota State men's hockey program."We appreciate their generosity to Maverick Hockey and to Minnesota State. This gift illustrates one of David's greatest characteristics - that of leadership. He's clearly demonstrated leadership from a young age and he continues to demonstrate it as the captain of a NHL team. And now he's leading once again as a young alumnus giving back to his alma mater. We are deeply grateful and very proud of  David."

"Gifts from our former student-athletes send an important message," said Kevin Buisman, Minnesota State's Director of Athletics. "It reinforces our hope that what we are doing here at Minnesota State is making a difference in their lives beyond athletics. We are deeply grateful for David and Kelly's generosity as we move forward with the goal of building upon and establishing the long term success of Maverick Hockey."