Back to the Future

Tim Jackman played for Minnesota State from 2000-02
before embarking on a pro career that saw him play for
six NHL teams in 12 seasons. He's now a student-assistant
coach for the Mavericks

Most kids who grow up playing the game of hockey in Minnesota dream of one day making it to the National Hockey League.  

Born in Minot, N.D., Tim Jackman’s father worked for the railroad and was often transferred all over the nation for work.  Following a few years in Brooklyn Park, Minn., and a year in Texas while Tim was in seventh grade, the family moved back to Minneapolis, where his hockey career began to flourish. And following two years of varsity hockey at Park Center High School and a short stint with the Twin Cities Vulcans of the United States Hockey League, where he had 11 goals and 19 assists in 25 games following his senior year of high school, he headed to Mankato for his freshman year of college hockey with the Mavericks.

“I loved the opportunity they were willing to give me by taking a chance to let me play right after my high school season so I thought that it would be a great step in my development as a player,” said Jackman on his decision to play college hockey for Minnesota State.

Jackman played two seasons for the Mavericks where he had 25 goals and 28 helpers in 73 games and it was his after his freshman season in 2001 when he was selected in the second round, 38th overall, by Columbus in the 2001 National Hockey League Draft.

He said he had known Columbus was interested after having a few meetings with them before he was drafted.  “Growing up I wasn’t much of an NHL fan, I watched the North Stars a little, and was a big Wayne Gretzky fan. But I really watched a lot of college hockey though, so I never envisioned myself being drafted or playing in the NHL, I just couldn’t see it.  It all just happened pretty fast.”   

He signed with the Blue Jackets following his sophomore year with Minnesota State, but looks back fondly of his time as a student-athlete in the Key City. “The community and the fans were great,” said Jackman.  “The buildup of the weekdays going into the weekend and with the opportunity play college hockey on Friday and Saturday nights with a great group of guys was special.”  He also noted that the college hockey model was an important ingredient in his development as a player with the practice to games ratio, along with strength and conditioning during the year serving in his growth as an athlete.

Jackman began his pro career with Syracuse, the American Hockey League affiliate for Columbus.  He played there for a year and a half before making his NHL debut on December 20, 2003 in a game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul. By doing so, he became the first former Maverick to play a game in the NHL.  

Last year, at the age of 33 and going into his 12th pro season, Jackman went to camp with Anaheim, but was experiencing back problems. Following two games with the Ducks he was sent to San Diego of the AHL where he played another 22 games before surgery ended his year. Having forged a professional career and playing a physical game that saw him tally 32 goals and 43 assists for 75 points in 483 games over a span of 12 seasons with six different NHL teams, it was at this point where the big forward decided he needed to start turning his attention to things outside of his hockey career.

Now at the age of thirty four he decided to return Mankato, starting a new chapter for his family, which includes his wife, Chelsey, an 18-month old son and another child on the way.

With a desire to finish his degree, but wanting to continue on with the game, he received the perfect opportunity from Mike Hastings and his staff, joining Minnesota State as a student assistant coach.

“This is something that I have really gotten excited about,” says Jackman, who assists with practice, reviewing game tape and strategy.  “I just want to be someone that can help pass the message to the players, and sometimes just encourage the players when I see something by trying to explain it and help them out by relating it to what the coaches want.  I just want to be a positive influence to the program as a whole.”  By working with Hastings and the rest of the coaching staff, Jackman characterizes his work as "great opportunity to learn some new things. I truly admire the way Coach Mike Hastings carries himself and treats his players. He is very honest with his players, he really cares.  It’s great for the players to know it’s a safe place to make a mistake because as long as you’re playing hard and learn from it, and you’re having fun with it that’s all that matters.”

So in a back-to-the-future kind of way, it’s hitting the books for Jackman. And while he’s working toward the next phase of his professional career, one in which he will likely teach and coach, he’s also assisting young student-athletes prepare for the next aspect of their careers.  For Tim Jackman, it’s come full cycle.

                                                

                                    contributed by Connor Wachtel, Athletic Communications intern

Add it to the Resume: College Graduate

David Backes played for Minnesota State from 2003-06 where
he totaled 46 goals and 73 assists for 119 points in 115 games

Before he became captain of the St. Louis Blues and before he became a two-time Olympian, David Backes was a college student.

No ordinary college student, mind you, because Backes was a electrical engineering student with a 4.00 grade point average who also happened to play NCAA Division I hockey.

A forward for Minnesota State, Backes played for the Mavericks for three seasons (2003-06) where he scored 46 goals and had 73 assists for 119 points in 115 games.

Selected by St. Louis in the second round of the 2003 National Hockey League draft, the two-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Academic pick was named a Third Team All-American his last year with the program in 2005-06.

After a short apprenticeship in the American Hockey League, Backes has gone on to rack up 357 points on 159 goals and 198 assists in seven and half seasons with the Blues. He has appeared in the last two Olympics with the United States men's hockey team. An accomplished pilot, Backes and his wife Kelly, are the founders of Athletes for Animals - a foundation that includes professional athletes from various sports with a "shared passion for rescuing an protecting the welfare of homeless pets nationwide."

He's accomplished a lot for such a young person, but one of the things left undone was getting his degree.

"I set out going to school to get a degree and I expected to finish.  I didn't necessarily expect pro hockey to happen and certainly not the the way it's happened"  said the Blaine, Minn., native.

And so this past Saturday, he ticked another item off the list. College graduate.

"My degree is in applied organizational studies with a non profit leadership certificate. It's pertinent to what Kelly and I are up to now."

With the sheepskin in hand, one wonders what's next for the former Maverick captain.

"Getting the degree was something that was high on the list.  Now it's sort of let's go find something else we can move forward with."

It's great to be a Maverick. 

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2014/02/25/3078397/backes-olympic-mission-to-russia.html#storylink=cpy

Living With the Lockout

Former Minnesota State forward David Backes is part of the
NHL PA negotiating team

Normally at this time of year, the National Hockey League is well into its regular-season schedule.

Teams would have been done with training camp and done with the preseason games. However, with the league owners locking out the players due to the fact that the two sides lack a collective bargaining agreement, two months worth of games have been lost. And while negotiations have been taking place, it appears that things aren't about to change.  NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been quoted as saying that with the two sides deadlocked, that maybe they should step away from the process for a couple of weeks.

We thought we might check in with a couple of former Mavericks who have been affected by this situation.

St. Louis Blues team captain David Backes, who played for Minnesota State from 2003-06, has been heavily involved with the National Hockey League Players Association the last several months as member of the organization's negotiating team.

"(This involves) being at the meetings and having input on which direction we should go," said the Blaine, Minn., native. "We inform those that are not at the meetings and learn about the process and history of negotiations."

He and a number of his teammates also head to the rink where they skate four times a week under the guidance of their own hired coaches, then go to the gym to work out. Backes, who with his wife Kelly assists Five Acres Animal Shelter with Backes' Buddies, currently is in enrolled in six credits of online courses at Minnesota State and expects to complete his degree next fall.

Forward Ryan Carter of the New Jersey Devils, who patrolled the ice for the Mavericks from 2004-06, is riding things out in the Twin Cities.

"Having a long season last year and playing in the finals through mid June can take its toll on the body two fold," said Carter, whose Devils lost to Los Angeles in last year's Stanley Cup Finals. "Obviously it's a lot of games in high-intensity hockey. And it makes for a much shorter off season and less time to recover. This is part of the reason I have not looked into playing in other leagues throughout this lockout and have decided to make sure that when a season begins that I am healthy and ready to play. Another reason is the quality of skates and workouts that I have been involved in. Fortunately for me I come from Minnesota and the Twin Cities seems to be a hot spot for NHL players to reside. Four to five times a week a group of 30 NHL guys get together for an hour-and-a-half and play. Half the time is spent practicing drills being run by coaches that kindly step in and guide us and the other half is spent scrimmaging. Intensity is high, though there is no bone-crushing contact and the pace keeps us in pretty good shape. To supplement, I spend a few hours a couple times a week in the gym and training on a skating treadmill at Acceleration Minnesota."

Hockey continues on in other venues outside of the world's top league. Several former Mavericks are playing in Europe or in North American minor professional leagues. Forward Kael Mouillierat, who spent most of last year one step below the NHL as a member of the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, is in Boise enjoying a banner season with the Idaho Steelheads of the East Coast Hockey League. Mouillierat, who spent 2006-10 with Minnesota State and one and half seasons with Idaho before making the jump to the AHL last season, ranks second in the ECHL with ten goals and stands seventh in scoring with 20 points in 13 games. With several former NHLers assigned to AHL-affiliates as a result of the lockout, it's likely that the Edmonton, Alta., native is back in Idaho due to the trickle-down effect.

"Boise is a great city and definitely one of the best places to play in the ECHL," said Mouillierat. "I've enjoyed my time here and have been treated extremely well. Obviously I would have liked to have been back in the AHL, but am happy to back here for another year.  It was a great experience in Bridgeport last season and I was lucky enough to get a chance to earn a full-time role on the team and tried to make the most of it.  I learned a lot in my time there and what it takes to get to and stay at that level, as well as what it takes for guys to make the next step to The Show."

Given his domination of the competition at the ECHL level, it's possible he could be back in the AHL once things are settled at the NHL level.

And depending on how the NHL and the NHLPA continue to work with each other, Backes and Carter could be back on NHL ice soon. But one never knows for sure.

Brad Smith, a 1992 MSU graduate who interned in the Maverick athletic communications office in the early '90s, worked with the Minnesota Wild in media relations and team services from 2000 until the 2004-05 season in which an entire season was lost due to a lockout. No NHL games were played that year and Smith, who also worked for the Minnesota Twins prior to joining the Wild, said that the situation was tough.

"The lockout in 2004 was nerve wracking and awkward in many ways for the front office during that time," offered Smith, who transitioned to a successful real estate career after leaving the Wild.  "There were so many unknowns and so many erroneous reports about was happening with the negotiations ("they're close and an announcement could come tomorrow" and it wouldn't happen).  Even after they announced the official cancellation of the season, there were reports that maybe they would open the season back up. There was a lot of animosity in the front office because they chose to lay some people off, cut different hours for others, etc. A lot of people moved on to different careers at that time, including myself."

Here's hoping the NHL is back up and running soon. It'd be nice to see MSU alums performing in the best league in the world and others continuing on with the goal of getting there.

It's great to be a Maverick!