Mike Babcock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mike Babcock (born April 29, 1963 in Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada [1] [2]) is a National Hockey League hockey head coach and former player. He serves as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League alongside assistant coaches Paul MacLean and Todd McLellan.
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[edit] Playing and Coaching Career
Before his playing days at McGill University (where he was captain), 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.
Babcock 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 entered 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 who has lived in six Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan, Quebec, Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba) and four US states (Washington, Ohio, California and his current residence, 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 (1995–96 and 1999–00).
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, leading the Ducks to the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost in 7 games to the New Jersey Devils.
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 three seasons, Babcock has led the Red Wings to a combined 162–56–28 regular season record and a 28–18 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 coach the Western Conference in the All-Star game. Babcock guided the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup that season, his first as a head coach.
He was announced as a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy for the 2007–2008 season, awarded to the coach who best contributes to his team's success.
On June 4, 2008 Mike led the Detroit Red Wings to another Stanley Cup championship by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
[edit] Personal
Mike is married to Maureen, and they have three children together: Allie, Taylor, and Michael.
[edit] Coaching career Statistics
Minor League
| Year | Team | League | W | L | OT/T | Finish | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 33 | 36 | 3 | 6th East | Lost East Division quarter-final | |
| 1992–93 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 27 | 42 | 3 | 8th East | Out of playoffs | |
| 1994–95 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 32 | 36 | 4 | 5th West | Lost West Division semi-final | |
| 1995–96 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 50 | 18 | 4 | 1st West | Lost WHL finals | |
| 1996–97 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 35 | 33 | 4 | 3rd West | Lost West Division semi-final | |
| 1997–98 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 45 | 23 | 4 | 2nd West | Lost West Division final | |
| 1998–99 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 19 | 44 | 9 | 7th West | Out of playoffs | |
| 1999–00 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 47 | 19 | 6 | 1st West | Lost WHL finals | |
| 2000–01 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2nd South | Lost in first round | |
| 2001–02 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 33 | 33 | 14 | 3rd Central | Lost in preliminary round | |
[edit] Coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Division Rank | Result | ||
| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 2002–03 | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 95 | 2nd in Pacific | Lost in Stanley Cup Finals |
| 2003–04 | 82 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 76 | 4th in Pacific | Missed Playoffs | |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2005–06 | 82 | 58 | 16 | - | 8 | 124 | 1st in Central | Lost in First Round |
| 2006–07 | 82 | 50 | 19 | - | 13 | 113 | 1st in Central | Lost in Conference Finals | |
| 2007–08 | 82 | 54 | 21 | - | 7 | 115 | 1st in Central | Won Stanley Cup | |
| Total | 410 | 231 | 118 | 19 | 42 | ||||
