Mike Babcock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mike Babcock |
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Babcock in January 2013
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| Born | April 29, 1963 Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada |
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| Coached for | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs |
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| National team | .svg){kind=small} Canada |
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| Coaching career | 1991–2023 | ||
Mike Babcock (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and player. He spent many years as a head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). He first coached the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, leading them to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals in 2003.
In 2005, Babcock joined the Detroit Red Wings. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2008. His teams made the Stanley Cup playoffs every year he was there. He set a record for the most wins in Red Wings history. In 2015, he moved to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs. He stayed with them until 2019. During his coaching career from 1991 to 2019, his teams only missed the playoffs four times. In 2023, he tried to return to the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, he left the team before the season began due to concerns about his behavior.
Babcock also coached a lot for international teams. He is the only coach to be part of the Triple Gold Club. This means he won the Stanley Cup, the IIHF World Championships, and an Olympic gold medal. He led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008. He coached Team Canada to gold at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004. He also coached Canada to gold at both the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Mike Babcock is the only coach to win six different national or international titles. He also guided Canada to gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He won the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1997. He also coached the University of Lethbridge to the CIS University Cup in 1994.
Since leaving the Maple Leafs, some former players have spoken about his coaching style. They said it was sometimes difficult.
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Early Life and Playing Career
Mike Babcock was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario. He grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He played for the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1980–81. He also played a season with the Kelowna Wings in 1982–83. In between, he played for the University of Saskatchewan. After Kelowna, he went to McGill University to play hockey. In September 1985, Babcock also went to the Vancouver Canucks NHL training camp. He played one exhibition game with the team.
Babcock finished his degree at McGill in 1986. He studied physical education. He also studied sports psychology. He played 146 games for the Redmen. He scored 22 goals and had 85 assists. He was a two-time all-star player. He was also the team captain. He won the Bobby Bell trophy as the team's best player.
After McGill, Babcock moved to the United Kingdom in 1987. He was a player and coach for the Whitley Warriors. He scored 45 goals and had 127 assists in 49 games.
Coaching Career Highlights
Babcock is one of four players from McGill University to coach an NHL team. In 2008, he became the second McGill hockey player to coach a Stanley Cup winner.
Babcock had a very successful coaching career. He coached continuously from 1987 to 2019. This included coaching in the NHL from 2002 to 2019. When the Maple Leafs let him go in 2019, he had 700 wins as an NHL coach. This places him 12th all-time in coaching wins.
Before the NHL (1988–2002)
Red Deer College In 1988, Babcock became head coach at Red Deer College in Alberta. He coached there for three seasons. He won the provincial college championship in 1989. He was also named coach-of-the-year.
Moose Jaw Warriors Babcock moved to the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1991. He coached the Moose Jaw Warriors for two years. He was let go by the team in 1993. He almost stopped coaching. But then he was offered a job at the University of Lethbridge. He decided to take it.
University of Lethbridge Babcock coached the Lethbridge Pronghorns, who were not doing well. He helped turn the team around. He won the Canada West coach-of-the-year award in 1993–94. He led Lethbridge to their first ever playoff appearance. They also won a national CIS Cup title.
Spokane Chiefs In 1994, Babcock became head coach of the WHL's Spokane Chiefs. He had a good winning record over six seasons. He was named West Division coach of the year twice. His team reached the playoff finals in 1995–96. They also played in the 1998 Memorial Cup.
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks From 2000 to 2002, Babcock coached the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. He led them to a franchise-high 41 wins. The team made the playoffs in both years.
NHL Coaching (2002–2019)
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–2004)
Babcock became head coach of the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on May 22, 2002. In his two seasons, he led them to a good regular season record. In the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2003, he led the Mighty Ducks to their first Stanley Cup Finals. They lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils.
Detroit Red Wings (2005–2015)
After the 2004–05 NHL season was cancelled, Babcock joined the Detroit Red Wings on July 15, 2005. In his first three seasons, he led the Red Wings to many wins. The team won the Presidents' Trophy for the league's best record in 2005–06 and 2007–08. In the 2006 playoffs, the Red Wings were upset in the first round. The next season, Babcock's Red Wings lost to his old team, the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals. The Ducks then won the Stanley Cup.
Babcock got his 200th NHL career win on December 15, 2007. He was chosen to coach the Western Conference at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. The Red Wings were favorites in the 2008 playoffs. They beat several teams to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. On June 4, 2008, he led the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup championship. They beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in game six of the Finals.
Babcock was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award that season. This award goes to the coach who helps his team the most. In June 2008, Babcock signed a new contract with the Red Wings.
In the 2008–09 season, the Red Wings finished second in their conference. They again made the Stanley Cup Finals. They played the Penguins again. The Red Wings had a 3–2 lead in the series. But the Penguins came back and won in seven games.
In October 2010, Babcock signed another contract with the Red Wings. In the 2011 playoffs, Babcock's Red Wings were down 3–0 in a series. They won three games in a row to force a seventh game. But they lost that game 3–2.
On April 8, 2014, Babcock got his 414th win as Red Wings coach. This made him the coach with the most wins in team history. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award again in 2013–14.
On December 6, 2014, Babcock got his 500th career win as a head coach. He was the second-fastest coach in NHL history to reach 500 wins. Only Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman did it faster.
In 10 seasons with the Wings, Babcock's team scored over 100 points eight times. However, after their second trip to the Finals in 2009, the team won only three more playoff series under Babcock.
Toronto Maple Leafs (2015–2019)
Babcock left the Red Wings in May 2015. On May 20, 2015, he became the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He signed a big contract, making him the highest-paid coach in NHL history. The Leafs had not made the playoffs often in recent years. Babcock's hiring was seen as a big step to change the team's luck.
On October 7, 2015, Babcock used the NHL's new coach's challenge for the first time. He coached his 1,000th NHL game on February 4, 2016. The Maple Leafs finished last that season. But this was expected as the team was rebuilding. This was the first time Babcock missed the playoffs since 2004. Finishing last gave the Maple Leafs the best chance to get the first pick in the 2016 draft. They picked Auston Matthews, a highly desired player.
Many new players joined the team in the 2016–17 season. These included Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner. These rookies, along with goalie Frederik Andersen, helped the team make the 2017 playoffs. This was a rare event for a team that was last the year before. Toronto played the Washington Capitals in the first round. The Maple Leafs pushed the Capitals to six games. Five of those games went to overtime. Babcock's coaching was praised for helping the young players develop. He was nominated for the Jack Adams Award again.
After their quick improvement, expectations for the Maple Leafs grew. They had good regular seasons in 2017–18 and 2018–19. But they could not get past the first round of the playoffs. They lost to the Boston Bruins in seven-game series in both 2018 and 2019.
On November 20, 2019, the Maple Leafs let Babcock go. This happened after a six-game losing streak. It also happened after some players felt uncomfortable with his coaching style. This was the first time Babcock had been let go from a professional coaching job.
College Athletics (2020–2022)
On July 29, 2020, the University of Vermont announced that Babcock would join their Catamounts ice hockey team. He was an unpaid assistant coach. On February 20, 2021, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies announced Babcock would coach their men's ice hockey team. He coached for one season in his hometown. He coached alongside his son, Michael Jr.
Babcock decided to leave the Huskies after one season on August 25, 2022. He said he wanted to give the assistant coaches more opportunities. The next day, Babcock said he was retiring from coaching.
Columbus Blue Jackets (2023)
On July 1, 2023, Babcock was named head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was his first NHL job since 2019. He signed a two-year contract. On September 12, some reports came out about his behavior. It was said that Babcock had asked players to show him personal photos from their cell phones. He said it was to help build character. The NHL and the players' union started looking into it.
At first, they did not find any problems. But as they looked more, they learned that some players, especially younger ones, were uncomfortable with Babcock's requests. After these investigations, the team decided Babcock could not stay. After discussions, he decided to step down as head coach on September 17. This was before the team's training camp started. The team later apologized to their players for hiring Babcock.
International Coaching Career
Babcock has also coached for Hockey Canada for a long time. He first coached Canada's junior team in 1997. They won a gold medal at the World Junior Championships. Babcock coached Canada's senior team for the first time in 2004. They won a gold medal at the 2004 IIHF World Championships.
On June 24, 2009, Babcock was named head coach of Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The team won the gold medal. They beat the United States 3–2 in overtime in the final. With this win, Babcock became the first coach to join the International Ice Hockey Federation's Triple Gold Club. This means he won an Olympic Gold, a World Championship gold, and the 2008 Stanley Cup. His hometown of Saskatoon named July 17, 2010, "Mike Babcock Day" to honor him.
On July 22, 2013, it was announced that Babcock would coach Team Canada again for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The team won the gold medal again. They beat Sweden 3–0 in the final. With this win, Babcock became only the second coach to lead a country to two Olympic gold medals in a row.
Babcock also coached Canada to victory at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. This makes him the only coach to have won the Stanley Cup, World Cup, World Championship, and World Junior Championship, and coached an Olympic gold medal-winning team.
Coaching Style
Babcock's teams usually focused on keeping control of the puck. They did not focus as much on physical play. Babcock wanted his teams to be good at keeping the puck. His teams often had fewer penalty minutes than other NHL teams.
Personal Life
Mike Babcock has Irish family roots. He and his wife, Maureen, have three children. He was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario. He moved around a lot as a child. His family settled in Saskatoon in 1975, which he calls his hometown.
Babcock has supported campaigns for mental health awareness. In 2017, he helped a campaign called Ahead of the Game. It raised money for youth mental health in sports.
He has received honorary degrees from McGill University and the University of Saskatchewan. In 2018, Babcock became a member of the Order of Hockey in Canada.
Images for kids
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Babcock in January 2013
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Mike Babcock playing in the United Kingdom in 1987 as a player-coach for Whitley Warriors.
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Babcock as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings in April 2007.
