Mike Babcock

Mike Babcock (born April 29, 1963 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada [1]) is a Canadian hockey head coach and former player. From 2002 to 2005 he was the head coach of the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, leading the Ducks to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, where they lost to the New Jersey Devils in seven games. In July 2005, he rejected a one-year extension offer to stay with the Ducks. On July 15, Babcock became the head coach for the Detroit Red Wings, replacing Dave Lewis.

Coaching career

Minor League

National Hockey League

Babcock, a former captain with the McGill University Redmen, is the third McGill player to coach an NHL team (Lester Patrick guided the N.Y. Rangers; George Burnett served in Edmonton). He was a two-time all-star rearguard at McGill from 1983-84 to 1986-87, where he also won the Bobby Bell trophy as team MVP. He has had a distinguished coaching career and will enter the 2007-08 season with a lifetime 602-449-107 regular season coaching record, including a 177-97-54 NHL mark in four seasons (two with Anaheim and two with Detroit). He also guided Team Canada to gold medals at the 1997 world junior championships in Geneva and the 2004 IIHF world hockey championships in Prague. Detroit marks the seventh coaching stint for the nomadic Babcock, a native of Saskatoon and has lived in six Canadian provinces and four US states (including his residence in Michigan). In 1988, Babcock was appointed head coach at Red Deer College in Alberta. He spent three seasons at the school, winning the provincial collegiate championship and earning coach-of-the-year honours in 1989. Babcock moved to the Western Hockey League in 1991 where he guided the Moose Jaw Warriors for a two-year term. He then served one season as bench boss of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, earning Canada West coach-of-the-year honours in 1993-94 after guiding Lethbridge to their first-ever appearance in post-season play and an entirely unexpected Canadian university national title with a 34-11-3 over-all mark. In 1994, he was appointed coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, where he posted a regular-season record of 224-172-29 over six seasons for a .564 winning percentage. He was named twice as the West Division coach of the year (1999-20 and 1995-96). From 2000-01 to 2001-02, Babcock guided the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, to a 74-59-20-7 record, including a franchise-high 41 wins and 95 points. The team qualified for the playoffs both years. He was named head coach of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks (then the Mighty Ducks) on May 22, 2002, and through two seasons, guided them to a combined 69-62-19 regular season record (including 14 overtime losses). In the Stanley Cup playoffs with the Ducks, he posted a 15-6 record. Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Babcock declined an offer to remain with the Ducks, and on July 15, 2005, was named head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. In two seasons, Babcock has led the Red Wings to a combined 108-35-21 regular season record and a 12-12 playoff record. Babcock and the Red Wings were eliminated by his former club, the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals of the 2006-07 playoffs. In the 2007-08 NHL season, while coaching the Detroit Red Wings, Babcock achieved his 200th NHL career win. This was on December 15 against the Florida Panthers, with a 5-2 final score. Heading into the All-Star game, as the top team in the league, Detroit's Babcock was selected to play in the All-Star game.

Playing career

Before his time playing days at McGill University, Babcock played for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL in 1980-81 and spent a season with the Kelowna Wings in 1982-83. In between, he played a year under Dave King at the University of Saskatchewan and transferred to McGill in 1983 under coach Ken Tyler. Babcock also had a brief try-out with the Vancouver Canucks. Babcock graduated from McGill in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and also did some post-graduate work in sports psychology. In 146 career games with the Redmen, he tallied 22 goals and 85 assists for a total of 107 points and 301 penalty minutes, graduating as the second-highest scoring rearguard in McGill history. He moved to England in 1987 as a player-coach for Whitley Warriors (near Newcastle upon Tyne), who missed out on the league title by two points. In 49 games, he contributed 45 goals and 127 assists, accumulating 123 penalty minutes. Babcock graduated from Saskatoon's Holy Cross High School in 1981.

References

CBS Sports Profile

See also

• List of NHL head coaches
• List of McGill University people