It’s a Homecoming for Mike Babcock and the University of Saskatchewan men’s hockey program.
A T-S-N report early Saturday afternoon was confirmed shortly thereafter by Huskie Athletics that the 57-year-old Saskatoon product would replace Dave Adolph as Dogs’ head coach.
Babcock, an N-H-L head coach for 17 seasons, joined N-B-C Sports as an analyst in January more than a year after being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Babcock came under fire last year after details of tactics used by the coach while with the Leafs and Detroit Red Wings were thought by many to be controversial. Overall, Babcock has 10 years of N-H-L head coaching experience with the Red Wings, five with the Leafs and two with the Anaheim Ducks.
Babcock is the only coach in hockey history to have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, the World Cup, the world hockey championship and the world junior championship. Following is the news release from Huskie Athletics…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, February 20
Babcock to coach USask Huskie men’s hockey team
USask Communications
SASKATOON – Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medal-winning coach Mike Babcock is the new head coach of the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskies men’s hockey team.
Huskie Athletics Chief Athletics Officer Dave Hardy announced today that Babcock, a long-time NHL and Canadian national team head coach, will lead the Huskies on a full-time volunteer basis for the next two seasons. A former Huskie hockey player from Saskatoon, Babcock replaces Dave Adolph, who announced his retirement on Dec. 7, 2020, after 27 years coaching Huskie hockey.
“This is an exciting and historic day for Huskie Athletics, and we are thrilled that Mike wants to come back home to lead our men’s hockey program,” said Hardy. “We are extremely fortunate that the timing lined up perfectly to create this opportunity. Mike’s track record of success speaks for itself, and he will be a great addition to Huskie Athletics, to the men’s hockey program, and to the local hockey community.”
Babcock joins the Huskies after spending the past 17 seasons in the NHL, including guiding the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup championship in 2008 and coaching Canada to back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014. Babcock is the only coach in hockey history to have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, the World Cup, the world hockey championship and the world junior championship.
“I am excited to work with Huskie athletes, back in my hometown, at the university where I had the opportunity to play under legendary coach Dave King,” said Babcock, who suited up for one season with the Huskies in 1981-82 before going back to the Western Hockey League (WHL). He later attended McGill University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education.
“This is a special place for me, and I look forward to having the chance to help develop these young men,” Babcock added. “Saskatchewan has provided me many opportunities in my life and my career, and I am truly excited about the opportunity to give back.”
Babcock previously coached collegiate hockey at Red Deer College from 1988-1991 and for one season in 1993-94 when he led the University of Lethbridge to the national championship, which he refers to as his “best work.” He spent eight years coaching junior in the WHL before moving on to the professional ranks for 19 seasons, serving behind the bench for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He has since served as a hockey analyst with NBC Sports and as a volunteer advisor with the University of Vermont hockey program.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Mike Babcock, one of the most decorated hockey coaches in Canadian history, to USask and to Huskie Athletics as the new head coach of the men’s hockey team,” said USask President Peter Stoicheff. “Volunteering his time, Mike Babcock will build on the proud and successful tradition of the Huskie hockey program, with the ultimate goal of winning the national championship. We are honoured and grateful that he has chosen to return home and rejoin the Huskies to offer his services to help take our program to a new level.”
Babcock will begin his new role with the Huskies in May 2021, after Adolph officially retires May 1 as the winningest coach in Canadian university men’s hockey history. The Huskies captured the Canada West championship in 2020 prior to heading to nationals for the eighth time in nine years. While the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to the pandemic, the Huskies look to return a veteran-laden team in 2021-22.
“Mike Babcock is an outstanding addition to the USask team and will accelerate the development of the dedicated student-athletes in the Huskie hockey program,” said King, a former Huskie coach and USask alumnus, and member of the selection committee. “I have known Mike for more than 40 years and there is no coach in the game who has accomplished as much as he has. There is no doubt that he is the right guy for the job and will have a tremendous impact on the success of the Huskie men’s hockey program.”
Babcock was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by USask in 2016 and was made a member of the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2018.
“Our top priority, especially during these challenging circumstances, is to make Huskie Athletics the top program in the country for our remarkable student-athletes,” said Hardy. “With the appointment of Mike Babcock, we are succeeding in that commitment.”
