Consistency, the kind that Thrashers defenseman Niclas Havelid displays, comes with constant preparation.

It's breaking in new equipment before practice. It's a workout in the gym after practice. It's mentally preparing for an opponent at all times.

Havelid is so focused on hockey at all hours that when he's not, it's memorable. It doesn't happen often, but when Havelid mentally takes a break, teammate and close friend Johan Hedberg loves to see it.

Sometimes it's over dinner during a road trip. Hedberg can almost watch the burden lift from Havelid's face.

He's in the moment, enjoying a good meal and the company of friends. In those moments, the reserved Havelid starts talking.

"He can't stop talking — old memories, different players, different sports. It's a lot of fun to be around," Hedberg said.

Hedberg also sees it when Havelid is with his three children. The two Swedes live within walking distance and their children are close friends.

The Havelids' basement is full of toys, and recently the goalie and the defenseman spent hours playing with a new remote-controlled excavator, digging up Legos long after the kids lost interest.

For Hedberg, times like these are priceless because they are so rare. Especially during hockey season. Especially when the Thrashers are struggling.

In a year in which the Thrashers have disappointed fans with a major step backward, mostly because of an inability to play team defense, Havelid is excused. It's been the year of the underachieving veteran, but not this one.

And he's helped accelerate the development of one of the only bright spots — rookie Tobias Enstrom, Havelid's partner on defense.

This summer, Don Waddell will undoubtedly rebuild the entire blueline, but the Thrashers' general manager doesn't have to worry about those two.

"I know one thing going into next year with [Havelid] and Enstrom, we have one good pair set up to go," Waddell said. "We know we have a task at hand to add to our blueline, but we know we have two guys who are going to play in your top four one way or another."

If you haven't noticed Havelid much this season, that's a good thing. That means he's doing his job.

He's not going to make the bone-crushing hit or score many goals. To appreciate Havelid is to watch his consistency and subtleties on the ice.

During a game, take your eye off the puck for a moment and watch him. You'll notice he's constantly in position, always between the puck and his goalie.

He breaks up passes with his quick stick, and never gives in while battling with an opponent in the corner.

He's fearless when it comes to blocking shots. So far this season, he has 174 blocked shots, fifth highest in the league.

"You see him make passes on the penalty kill to an open guy in the slot so he can ice the puck," Waddell said. "He does little things that if you're watching you pick up on it. The year he's had this year — I can't find any fault."

Even when the team was at its worse, Havelid excelled. He's constantly matched against the most dangerous scorers, yet when Buffalo routed the Thrashers 10-1 in January, Havelid was a plus-one for the game.

The Thrashers have allowed 55 more goals than they've scored this season, yet Havelid's plus-minus hovered around even most of the season. It's just now, during the Thrashers' recent dive, that he has dropped to a minus-four. It's still the best of any defenseman who has been with the team all season.

"He's an everydayer," associate coach Brad McCrimmon said. "He shows up to practice, he's prepared, gets his training in — he's always preparing for the next day. Today's work for tomorrow. If you had 23 Niclas Havelids on your roster, it'd be a pretty quiet dressing room."

And it's been a bounce-back season for Havelid. In November 2006, his mother, Birgitta, was diagnosed with cancer and Havelid briefly left the team. He was at the hospital when she died, then returned to the Thrashers for a stretch of games before flying back to Sweden for the funeral.

No, he wasn't horrible last season, but he wasn't the consistent Niclas Havelid the team was used to either.

"I can't really say I had a bad year, but it wasn't the best year either and that was a part of it," Havelid said. "There's a lot of things going around in your head when things like that happen."

But the consistency has returned this season, and he's passed it on to Enstrom, who credits Havelid for much of the success he has enjoyed in his first NHL season.

As one of the alternate captains, Havelid is also a team leader. Not the inspirational team-speaker kind of leader, but the show-up-every-day-prepared kind of leader.

In a rough season, he's picked moments to speak up. When a player who is doing his job on the ice, especially one who rarely addresses the team, says something, everyone listens. With Havelid, the Thrashers always do.

Yes, there have been major issues with the Thrashers this season, but that's why a quiet, consistent professional stands out.

"He's a pro's pro," McCrimmon said. "As a player, that's as good a compliment as you can get."