Mike Babcock
Mike Babcock
Michael "Mike" Babcock, Jr.is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach, currently serving as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. He previously spent 10 seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and helped to the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year during his tenure. He holds the record as winningest coach in Red Wings history, surpassing that of Jack Adams. He has also served...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth29 April 1963
guys worked
We just rolled (the lines) one, two, three, four. It didn't matter. We let our guys go, and it kind of worked out well.
edmonton good nashville squashed test works
Edmonton is quick, and it works hard, ... Edmonton just squashed Nashville (Tuesday), so it'll be a good test for us.
battle everybody excited foundation great hard huge hung last locker nice opportunity people pictures playoffs quickly saying trying work year
I think everybody realizes that we had a great opportunity. But you find out quickly that last year was last year. There are now nice pictures of the playoffs hung up around the locker room, and people were saying nice things about us and patting us on the back all summer. But now we are trying to reestablish work habits, foundation and identity. I think it makes you more hungry, because we all know how hard it is to get there. It will be a huge battle for us and we are excited about the opportunity to try to get back there.
again ethic far fire guys playoff playoffs race record starts telling win work
We need to reestablish our work ethic and get back the fire we need to win games. As far as I'm concerned, the playoff race starts Oct. 8 in Dallas. You can't make the playoffs in the first 20 games, but you can be out of it after 20 games. So for me, it's all about establishing that work ethic again in a hurry. I just keep telling the guys that, too -- so much that they think the record is stuck.
came great hard ice middle panic people plays puck tons work
It's not like we hadn't had tons of chances, we just weren't finishing. The big thing we wanted to do was not panic and just keep doing what you are doing, get people to the net, work hard at it and let's not be pressing. I thought we managed the puck well and made great plays in the middle of the ice and really came at them with some speed.
brain dominant feels good great knows leg news skating works
We want him to feel good and be an important part of our team. He told me the other day that he feels he's skating well, and that his leg doesn't hurt. Well that's great news for us. He's dominant in the face-off circle, his brain works all the time; he knows how to play in all situations.
chance good hung job ourselves players took
We weren't ready. Between the players and myself, we didn't get the job done to get out and get started and get after them and set the tone. We hung on good enough defensively, and Manny was good enough to give us a chance to get ourselves going and then I think we took over.
best coach consultant game history phone talked
I've talked to Scotty a lot. The best reputation, the best record, the best coach in the history of our game is here as a consultant for us. All I've got to do is phone him and ask. He's unbelievable.
came chance cup finals game people period three tied win wins
It was unbelievable. Making the finals is one thing, but getting to a Game 7 and being tied in that game after the first period is another. A lot of people think they have a chance to win the Cup, but the only chance to win the Cup is when you have three wins in the final. It's something that I'll always remember, but in the end, we came up empty.
best classy coached easiest good guy humble key people players successful
I've coached some real good players -- he's the best player I ever coached. He's classy as they come, as humble as they come. This guy just makes people around him better, and that's the key to having a successful team. He's the easiest person I've ever coached.
best coached good hockey knew player
I've coached some good hockey players, but he's the best player I've ever coached. This guy, I always knew he was a good player, but I had no idea he was this good.
came label
They always have a label for you, ... When I came out of junior, I was a 'junior coach.' When I came out of college, I was a 'college coach.' Then when I made it to the NHL, I was a 'minor-league coach.' And now I'm a 'defensive coach.'
adversity positive turn
There's adversity; what are you going to do with it? Are you going to turn it into a positive ?
advice group guys jimmy leadership league national played possibly team training tried
I wanted to have a competitive training camp. So we went through and put the lineup together. We used Jimmy Nill's advice on all the young guys because I don't know the young guys, and then we tried to get the guys who played in the national league and played on our team to be as competitive a group as we possibly could be, with leadership in all groups.