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Entries with the tag: Mike+babcock
Babcock Shares Some Secrets
by Paul on 01/25/12 at 08:56 AM ET
Comments (2)
from Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette,
As they prepare to take on the Canadiens Wednesday at the Bell Centre, the Red Wings are the league’s best club and one of the early favourites to challenge for the Stanley Cup.
Babcock has joked that he’s strong on R&D; in his case, that is rob and do. Even today, with his remarkable pedigree, he admits he’s a shameless thief.
“I’m borrowing all the time,” Babcock said Tuesday. “We’re in constant change. It was on purpose that I hired guys who hadn’t been in the NHL before.”
It’s this kind of progressive, outside-the-box thinking that has made Babcock one of hockey’s elite coaches, arguably its best, and the only winner of the game’s trifecta: the Stanley Cup, Olympic Games and world championship.
As he began his search for new assistants, Babcock pored over Geoff Colvin’s bestselling Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else.
“The book talked about all the young, enthusiastic people who were outdoing the old veterans,” he said. “So I asked myself, ‘Why wouldn’t I do that?’ I found guys who won at the levels they were at with new ideas, and tried to get ideas that way.
“(Detroit general manager) Ken Holland and I were discussing the direction we were going and we wanted to change our approach. I was going to be in my seventh year with Detroit. You get to be like Charlie Brown’s teacher after awhile.
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Afternoon Line
by Paul on 01/18/12 at 02:14 PM ET
Comments (3)
“We’re averaging 1.7 (goals) against at home, and we’re averaging 2.8 on the road. You can’t win without checking. It’s impossible. It doesn’t work like that.
“You can’t outscore your mistakes. You’ve got to be diligent without the puck if you’re to have success.”
-Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. More on the Wings from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
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Late Evening Line
by Paul on 10/25/11 at 11:40 PM ET
Comments (8)
“We just got beat 7-1 (Saturday), so to start like that (Tuesday), that preparation isn’t good enough. You knew Columbus was going to play hard, you knew they were going to find a way to win a game, so our urgency had to match theirs. That wasn’t the case at all.
“It was a disappointing effort. Obviously, the preparation (from) our coaching staff, we didn’t do a good enough job. The players didn’t do a good enough job.
“No excuse for what happened tonight.”
-Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. More from Babcock and some of the players after the Wings second loss in a row.
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Babcock Will Present Ace Bailey Award Of Courage To Family Of Earl Cook
by Paul on 09/26/11 at 12:27 PM ET
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from Bill Roose of DetroitRedWings.com,
Shortly after Monday morning’s practice, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was off to catch a flight to Toronto, where he was scheduled to be a presenter at tonight’s NHL Alumni Awards dinner.
Babcock will present the Ace Bailey Award of Courage to the family of Earl Cook, who lost his long battle with cancer earlier this month.
Cook, 23, had become more than a friend and fan of the Red Wings and Babcock, the coach said. Cook often made the trip from his home in Winnipeg to Detroit, where he was always a welcome guest in the Wings’ dressing room at Joe Louis Arena.
continued and watch below a small feature on Earl Cook CBC did last week.
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Tags: Earl+Cook, Mike+Babcock,
SJ Sharks: Various Quotes, Reflections, Evaluations
by Alanah McGinley on 05/13/11 at 12:30 AM ET
Comments (1)
From Dave Lozo at NHL.com, some thoughts from Joe Thornton:
Q: Are you feeling more relieved or excited about the Game 7 victory?
A: Satisfied. It’s satisfaction, yeah. We thought we’d win this game at home. We felt pretty good.
Q: Can you tell us the emotions you’ve gone through during this series?
A: Couple highs, couple lows. But really, this team all year—a lot of people here right now haven’t followed us—we’re pretty even-keeled all year. I think it just showed now. We went up 3-0 and didn’t panic (losing the last three games). We just came out and played. That’s what we did tonight.
Q: How nice was it to see Patrick Marleau get the game-winning goal?
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Tags: joe+thornton, mike+babcock, patrick+marleau,
Video- Babcock Scores
by Paul on 03/25/11 at 02:56 PM ET
Comments (3)
Thanks to Greg Brady for pointing this out via a tweet
Mike Babcock celebrates a shootout goal.
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Bertuzzi Out with Injury
by Alanah McGinley on 03/22/11 at 12:53 PM ET
Comments (15)
From Ansar Khan at MLive:
“I don’t think we’ll have Franzen, Datsyuk, Hudler or Bertuzzi available for tomorrow,’’ coach Mike Babcock said after today’s practice
It would be the first game Bertuzzi has missed during his second stint in Detroit. He has played in 155 consecutive games as a Red Wing.
“He’s had aches and pain for a while and he just can’t go,’’ Babcock said. “So we’ll give him a few days.’‘
more on Wings injuries
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Tags: mike+babcock, todd+bertuzzi,
Evening Line
by Paul on 03/06/11 at 07:04 PM ET
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“There gets to be a point in your season where you got to decide, if you think you’re a championship-caliber team, that there’s a right way to play. Unless you get 23 guys doing it the same way and wanting to do it, nothing’s going to happen.’‘
-Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. More from Babcock by Ansar Khan of Mlive.
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Video- Laughing With Mike Babcock
by Paul on 03/03/11 at 02:53 PM ET
Comments (1)
He does have a lighter side…
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Video- Imagine No TV Until Age 11 Or 12
by Paul on 02/21/11 at 10:50 AM ET
Comments (3)
Then you have lived in Mike Babcock’s early youth world.
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Mike Babcock’s Day
by Paul on 01/09/11 at 01:10 AM ET
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Elliotte Friedman’s Inside Hockey feature during the HNIC pre-game featured Mike Babcock on a game day.
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Holland Finally Made The Right Move
by Paul on 10/13/10 at 03:57 PM ET
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from Pierre LeBrun or ESPN,
Flash back to the spring of 2002. Mike Babcock is the head coach of the AHL’s Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, a shared farm club of both Anaheim and Detroit.
“I remember he had come up to watch us play in the first round against Vancouver,” Red Wings GM Ken Holland recalled Tuesday. “He was cocky. He told me he wanted to be the next coach of the Red Wings after Scotty Bowman. And I told him, ‘The Red Wings would never be his first [NHL] coaching stop. We don’t hire interns.’”
The truth is, Holland was already impressed with the young coach, having fostered a relationship with him through Detroit’s shared agreement in Cincinnati. At that time, however, Bowman’s replacement after another Cup in 2002 would be longtime assistant Dave Lewis. He was in-house, had bided his time and an outsider wouldn’t feel right after a Cup year.
If you are into NHL betting, you may want to look at the Wings this season.
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Tags: Ken+Hollland, Mike+Babcock,
Afternoon Line
by Paul on 10/11/10 at 03:50 PM ET
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Babcock had no real desire to leave Detroit, especially since it’s arguably the finest organization in the entire NHL and his kids are at the age where the last thing they want to do right now is pull up stakes and move. But he’s also got a lot of pride and doesn’t just want to be one of the coaches with the most tenure in one city, he wants to be the best.
Signing the extension in Detroit will give him a chance to do all that and then some.
-Bob McKenzie of TSN. More on Babcock from McKenzie.
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Wings Extend Babcock
by Paul on 10/11/10 at 08:24 AM ET
Comments (10)
via Jeff Marek tweet,
Detroit signs head coach Mike Babcock to 4-year contract extension.
added 9:33am,
DETROIT—Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Ken Holland today announced that the club has reached a four-year contract extension with Head Coach Mike Babcock. In accordance with team policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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All Mike Babcock
by Paul on 09/13/10 at 10:38 AM ET
Comments (5)
from Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com,
NHL.COM: What will Mike Modano bring to the Red Wings?
BABCOCK: “He’s been a good player for a long time. (Pavel Datsyuk) will center Z (Henrik Zetterberg) and on the right side I have Homer (Tomas Holmstrom), Bert (Todd Bertuzzi) and (Dan) Cleary. I don’t know what line they’re playing on, but I know I got Z with Pavel, (Johan) Franzen with Fil (Valtteri Filppula) and Hudler with Modano. So he’s going to play with good players. If I’m the other team, my first defensive pair is playing against Pavel, the second against Fil and a third against Modano—that’s a heck of a third line. He can really skate and I like the fact it’s a change for him. Change is exciting. I think we should all change our professions every 10 years. When you go to a new place, you’re fired up, a little bit nervous and there’s momentary doubt. Those things will help him and we think he still has a lot of hockey left in him. He’s going to be happy being a Red Wing. He’s going to like getting the puck on his tape from good players and he’ll play on our second power-play unit.”
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The Babcock Strategy
by Paul on 09/09/10 at 07:30 AM ET
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from Ken Abramczyk of the Observer,
Preparation. Execution. Reinforcement.
Those habits and traits in hockey — and in business — bring success, Babcock told the crowd of 280 people at a luncheon Tuesday of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce. Babcock was joined by Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, just days before they were to leave for Traverse City and preseason camp.
Preparation gets you ready to compete, and reinforcement increases your confidence for higher expectations, he said.
“All it is is a weeding out process, so that the best is left,” Babcock said. “All you are doing is weeding out the competition.”
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Babcock Talks Modano
by Paul on 07/16/10 at 10:36 AM ET
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via Dan Rosen tweets,
just spoke with Mike Babcock and he’s convinced that Mike Modano will sign with the Red Wings, and play 2 years in Detroit.
Babcock said he met with Modano in Detroit earlier in the week and now believes it’s just a matter of time before he signs, but…
He also said he’s been wrong before, so it wouldn’t shock him if he is again. He doesn’t think we’ll know until Aug. 1 at the earliest.
added 12:27pm, Dan Rosen of NHL.com follows-up with at story on this topic.
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Mike+Modano,
Wings Want To Extend Babcock’s Contract
by Paul on 06/26/10 at 09:41 PM ET
Comments (4)
from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press at Kentucky.com,
The Red Wings are starting negotiations to get coach Mike Babcock signed to an extension.
He has a year left on the three-year deal he signed most recently, but the Wings have been so thrilled with the job 47-year-old Babcock has done - especially this past season - that extending him only makes sense.
“I’d like to keep him, so we’re going to sit down and talk,” general manager Ken Holland said Saturday at the 2010 NHL entry draft at Staples Center. “He likes it in Detroit, and I enjoy working with him. I think he’s done a tremendous job since he came here in 2005. I anticipate this is going to take most of the summer, but hopefully by the time we get to training camp, we’ve got something in place.”...
“I’m staying if they’d like to have me,” Babcock said. “But I haven’t really even thought about it - I just assumed I’m staying.”
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The Babcock/Bowman Relationship
by Paul on 06/08/10 at 06:55 AM ET
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from Cory Wolfe of the Leader-Post,
“I know about his family and he knows about my family,” said Babcock, the Saskatoon-raised head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. “You build a relationship over time.”
Their relationship fused into a lifelong friendship two years ago when Bowman’s son Stan faced a second battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Babcock—a longtime supporter of cancer charities—connected the Bowmans with Dr. Lennie Sender, one of the world’s foremost oncologists. Babcock met Sender while coaching the Anaheim Ducks….
And like the Hawks’ fortunes, the friendship between the elder Bowman and Babcock continues to flourish. How tight is their bond? Well, consider that Scotty Bowman cancelled plans to attend next month’s British Open so that he could come to Saskatoon to help Babcock raise funds for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan….
Bowman said he’s thrilled to help.
“When you get fortunate—and we’ve had some good bounces on the health side of late—this is at least some way that I can give back,” he said.
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Scotty+Bowman,
Winning On Babcock’s Mind
by Paul on 05/04/10 at 06:13 AM ET
Comments (2)
from Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News,
As the Red Wings take the ice tonight for Game 3, down 2-0 to the unexpectedly confident Sharks, suddenly many things seem uncertain for the most successful franchise in the NHL for the past decade and a half. But there’s some assurance: Babcock is cocksure he knows the answers. He will be direct in telling players what they must do. And, while considerate of their points of view, his unqualified, singular concern is winning.
Since he began coaching 22 years ago, at Red Deer College in Alberta, Babcock has succeeded at every level. His consummate confidence and intensity are sometimes confused with arrogance, even conceit, according to some former colleagues.
But as players and others come to know him, they usually understand Babcock is fiercely knowledgeable of the game, intensely competitive and utterly fearless of difficult decisions or dire straits—like being down a couple games in a playoff series.
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McLellan vs. Babcock
by Paul on 04/29/10 at 03:38 PM ET
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from Brian Compton of NHL.com,
When Todd McLellan accepted the coaching job with the San Jose Sharks in June 2008, he knew he’d have to beat the Detroit Red Wings in order to lead his new club to a Stanley Cup….
“I think most teams think that,” McLellan said after the morning skate when asked if the road to Lord Stanley goes through Detroit. “When they built their team at the beginning of the year, they probably think about Detroit and having to overcome and beat them at some point. We’ll see if we’ve done the right thing.”
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Todd+McLellan,
Morning Line
by Paul on 04/21/10 at 09:17 AM ET
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“I didn’t talk to him. I haven’t talked to him hardly all year except to say, `Hey, how are you and where did you get your suit?’ That’s Jimmy D’s job; he looks after all those guys. I mean, I talk to the kid and once in a while I’ll say, ‘It’s about the next stop,’ but he knows that. He doesn’t need to hear it from me.”
-Detroit Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock talking about Jimmy Howard. More on the Wings/Coyotes from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.
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Babcock Talk
by Paul on 04/17/10 at 08:57 AM ET
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I normally don’t post the Mike Babcock post game press conference, but since it was a late game and you may have gone to bed right after the final horn, you can watch the full conference below.
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Babcock Talks Wings
by Paul on 04/06/10 at 01:49 PM ET
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Detroit Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock took part in a media conference call today,
Q. Obviously now moving on to your next season, was there a transition for you moving from the international stage at the Olympics back to the regular season grind of the NHL and trying to get into a playoff spot?
COACH BABCOCK: None. No. I mean, we played the next night in Colorado. We needed the win. We talked about it. We found a way to win. We’ve been real fortunate in the fact that we were able to get on a great run.
I really thought probably after the Olympic break that if we could ? we’d be playing Chicago on Sunday for hopes of getting in the playoffs. So our run’s been fantastic. It’s great to be in.
Now we can make prudent decisions with our players. If guys needed to be ? need to take a day off because they’ve got a pull or their shoulder’s bad, we can give them that. We couldn’t over this stretch. We just had to find a way to get points.
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You May Need ‘The Babcock’
by Paul on 03/20/10 at 04:29 PM ET
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Thanks to Jeff Marek of CBC pointing this out on Twitter..
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Team+Canada,
Babcock Talks Hockey At Red Deer College
by Paul on 03/16/10 at 12:36 PM ET
Comments (3)
from the Red Deer Advacate,
Twenty-two years after being hired on as a rookie hockey coach, Mike Babcock returned to the Red Deer College fold on Tuesday morning.
In front of more than 800 people at the Capri Centre Exhibition Hall, Babcock — recent coach of the gold medal-winning men’s hockey team in the Winter Olympics and current coach of the Detroit Red Wings — was the featured speaker of the seventh annual Red Deer College Kings and Queens Scholarship Breakfast.
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You Have To Do It Right
by Paul on 03/11/10 at 07:53 AM ET
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from Tim Wharnsby of CBC,
Mike Babcock was dripping in sweat. He had just returned from his daily run along the riverfront outside Joe Louis Arena. The sparkle from coaching the Canadian men’s Olympic team to gold in Vancouver only 11 days previous was not evident because of Babcock’s current predicament with the Detroit Red Wings.
He was less than 24 hours removed from a devastating 4-2 home loss to the Calgary Flames. Local reporters were waiting for him to explain what buttons he was going to push to get the Red Wings into the playoffs.
There is concern around Motown. The Red Wings are in ninth spot with 16 regular-season games remaining. Detroit hasn’t missed the post-season since 1989-90.
“You have to do it right,” Babcock said after he finished his briefing session with reporters. “There will time in the summer to reflect on the Olympics when I’m in my boat at the lake.”
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A Hunting He Will Go
by Paul on 03/09/10 at 03:45 PM ET
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Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is featured on Outdoor Channel’s Nosler’s Magnum TV during a hunting trip in Africa. Tune in to see Mike and the hosts stalk through the jungle in search of Buffalo in Tanzania. Attached is a promo video of Coach Mike Babcock on the show hunting in Tanzania for you to enjoy and post on your site / blog if you’d like.
The show will be airing on Outdoor Channel Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30 a.m. and Thursday, March 11 at 9:00 p.m.
In Detroit, Outdoor Channel is on Comcast Channel 730; On DirecTV- Channel 606; DISH – Channel 153.
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Listen To Mike Babcock And Ryan Miller
by Paul on 03/04/10 at 02:31 PM ET
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NEW YORK (March 4, 2010) – Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and Team Canada, and Ryan Miller goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres and Team USA, are today’s guests on NHL Hour With Commissioner Gary Bettman on NHL.com and SIRIUS XM Radio at 6 p.m. ET.
Mike Babcock’s international coaching career has been golden. On Sunday, as head coach of Canada’s Men’s Olympic hockey team, Babcock completed hockey’s grand slam by adding yet another accomplishment to his already impressive resume. With Canada’s 3-2 overtime victory against Team USA in Vancouver, Babcock became the only coach in hockey history to guide teams to supremacy in four of the most prestigious tournaments in the game: the World Junior Championship, the World Championship, the Olympic Games and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Ryan+Miller, Team+Canada, Team+USA,
Canada, You Should Not Question This Man Again
by Paul on 02/28/10 at 06:23 PM ET
Comments (13)
added 6:32pm, Or this guy too…
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Afternoon Line
by Paul on 02/28/10 at 12:12 PM ET
Comments (6)
“I knew he always has teams that work hard and are positionally sound, but I’m impressed by his coaching style. He’s quick and to the point and his voice is really heard in the dressing room. It’s been great to play for him.”
-Rick Nash of Team Canada. More on Babcock from Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
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Babcock Doesn’t Handle The Goalie Switch Well
by Paul on 02/22/10 at 10:53 PM ET
Comments (22)
from the Toronto Star (no writer mentioned),
Martin Brodeur doesn’t feel like he was lied to. Just blamed unfairly, and undoubtedly disrespected by head coach Mike Babcock.
Not only did Babcock call out Brodeur for his play in a 5-3 loss to the United States on Sunday, he then told Roberto Luongo he would be in goal for the qualification match against Germany a few hours after the game but waited to deliver the news to Brodeur, the winningest goalie in the history of the sport, until before practice on Monday.
Maybe you can never make these kind of momentous changes and keep everyone happy.
But Babcock didn’t really try.
So now he’s got to ride Luongo to the end of these Olympics….
Anytime Babcock has had success—1997 world juniors, 2002 Stanley Cup final with Anaheim, 2008 and ’09 Cup finals with Detroit—he has identified a starting goalie and rode him hard.
He didn’t pull Marc Denis in ’97 when that team struggled, or J.S. Giguere in ’02, or Chris Osgood in either of the past two playoff season.
more and someone forgot who the starting goalie for the Wings was in the 2008 playoffs (hint, it wasn’t Osgood)..
note 7:07am 2/23/10, The article is from Damiien Cox.
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Babcock- “We Got To Stop The Snowball From Rolling Downhill”
by Paul on 01/28/10 at 01:58 PM ET
Comments (7)
Mike Babcock was on the Fan590 about 20 minutes ago.
Talked Wings and very frank in his discussion. Then talked Team Canada before talking more Wings, including Osgood.
He also mentioned Williams back tomorrow, Homer back Sunday or the next game and Franzen scheduled to play the last three games before the Olympic break.
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Babcock Wearing Two Hats
by Paul on 01/10/10 at 09:21 AM ET
Comments (1)
from Mark Purdy of the Mercury News,
You might have heard. Our beloved Los Tiburones are sending more players to the Canadian team than any other NHL franchise. The top Sharks forward line of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau will be joined by defenseman Dan Boyle.
What does that mean? It means that Saturday night, Babcock was sending out his Detroit players to fight and battle against the Sharks players who could be Babcock’s most key offensive performers in Vancouver.
And that had to be awkward.
“I don’t think there’s anything awkward about it,” Babcock said. “I don’t really understand where you’re going.”
Actually, in my head, I am going where Babcock will be going in a few weeks. Anxiety or intensity doesn’t begin to describe the destination.
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Babcock Keeps The Wings In The Race
by Paul on 12/30/09 at 08:47 AM ET
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from Cassie Campbell of CBC,
Mike Babcock has to be a candidate for coach of the year!
I know his team, the Detroit Red Wings, is full of talent and is expected to be vying for a Stanley Cup every year, but right now they’re in ninth spot, out of the playoffs in the Western Conference. The Wings are a team that has both the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks thinking, ‘Please get a lot better and move way up the standings or please get a lot worse and move way down the standings - just as long as we don’t have to face them in the first round!’
If the Wings make the playoffs this year, Mike Babcock and his staff will have done one heck of a job. I mean, the injuries alone would probably decimate any other team, but he has found a way to keep his team competing while dealing with 180-plus man games lost.
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Babcock Always Learning
by Paul on 12/28/09 at 08:24 AM ET
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from Rachel Brady at CTVOlympics,
In the summer of 2001, Mike Babcock—then coach of the AHL’s Cincinnati Ducks—called Hockey Canada to ask if he could come watch the men’s Olympic hockey camp in Calgary prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. He wanted to learn from the best coaches and players and take a few notes.
He had already acted as coach of Canada’s World Junior team, so Hockey Canada was happy to let the coach attend. A young coach trying to make it to the NHL, he was doing anything he could to gain an edge in the hockey world.
Fast-forward to 2009, and Babcock is now one of the game’s most accomplished coaches. The Detroit Red Wings coach will soon take the bench behind Canada’s 2010 Olympic team. Yet the Stanley Cup winning coach still calls himself a life-long learner. He has rarely missed an opportunity to benefit from his encounters with people, in hockey or otherwise.
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Team+Canada,
Can’t Argue With Babcock’s Logic
by Paul on 11/19/09 at 10:10 AM ET
Comments (13)
Babcock on the Brad May non-goal because of intent to blow the whistle.
In case you missed the play, watch it at A2Y.
12:04pm, added the video from the Stars feed below…
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Babcock Waves His Canadian Flag
by Paul on 11/02/09 at 07:42 PM ET
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from Dave Waddell of the Windsor Star,
Having coached in the U.S. the past decade, Babcock isn’t shy anytime he gets a chance to wave the maple leaf.
“I’m going to talk about the opportunity to be an Olympian and the opportunity for Canadians to understand how important it is for the country to embrace this,” Babcock said. “Having it in your country and getting to share all the great things about Canada is fantastic.”
From a personal standpoint, Babcock rates the impending experience in Vancouver as his greatest.
He knows he faces immense pressure and second guessing from a nation with lofty expectations, but his background as an avid hunter tells him the thrill is only amplified by the pursuit of such an elusive prize as a gold medal.
“It’s the greatest opportunity you can have as a hockey coach,” Babcock said. “To me, this is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, since I was a boy, to be an Olympian.
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Tags: Mike+Babcock, Team+Canada,
Afternoon Line
by Paul on 10/10/09 at 01:08 PM ET
Comments (3)
With Franzen gone, we’ll REALLY learn how good—or mediocre—a coach Mike Babcock is in Detroit.
-Stan Fischler via his Twitter.
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Babcock With Numerous Topics
by Paul on 09/28/09 at 07:50 AM ET
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Exhibition season, prospects, outlook for the regular season, trip to Sweden and the Detroit Lions are some of the topics Mike Babcock discussed last night.
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Morning Line
by Paul on 09/22/09 at 09:41 AM ET
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“He’s in way better shape. He’s way quicker than he was last time here. So now we need a big-time effort each and every night, and I think we’re going to get that.”
-Wings Coach Mike Babcock on Todd Bertuzzi. Read more from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
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A Little Bitter Tim?
by Paul on 08/29/09 at 05:05 PM ET
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from Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly,
What was going through the mind of that brilliant strategist Mike Babcock this week, while he was skating players hard on the first day of his Team Canada Olympic orientation camp in Calgary?
Talk about brain cramps from one of hockey’s more obnoxious coaches – and we haven’t heard a single person question that serious lack of judgment.
Most of Babcock’s players hadn’t seen a pair of skates – much less laced them up – since last spring. True, Simon Gagne had been skating for two weeks. But he wasn’t skating hard.
Is it any wonder Gagne tweaked his right groin?
Good thing they had insurance, huh? Just to protect the players from Babcock.
continued & more topics too…
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Morning Line
by Paul on 08/27/09 at 08:52 AM ET
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“He’s a Type A personality. He’s a very focused, intense individual. He doesn’t move on anywhere until it’s done. If it’s not done right, he doesn’t care what the name is on the back, where you’re from or who you play for. You got to do the job. When he says you’ve got to play 200 feet, you got to play 200 feet. The game we want to play (in Vancouver) has a lot of pressure in it, a lot of skating in it. There’s no resting on the ice.”
-Ken Hitchcock on Mike Babcock. More on Babcock from Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated.
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Babcock In Charge
by Paul on 08/25/09 at 09:01 PM ET
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from Jeff Marek of CBC Sports,
First, this is Mike Babcock’s team. Period.
Yes, he is flanked by some outstanding assistant coaches in Jacques Lamaire, Ken Hitchcock and Lindy Ruff - who since he is the youngest of all assistant coaches gets to do the grunt work like shovel snow in front of the net - but make no mistake about it, Babcock is in charge.
Even at the opening press conference on Monday where Babcock laid out his now infamous “200-foot” hockey player analogy, you can tell in every interaction that the coach is leading this squad. Right away Babcock is on the ice at the opening session.
He gives out the instructions, he runs the drills and yes he stops players who aren’t doing exactly what he wants. And that includes the Sidney Crosby/Rick Nash/Jarome Iginla line, which he stopped Tuesday and made them start a drill over.
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We Haven’t Had Much Babcock Talk Lately
by Paul on 08/25/09 at 06:40 PM ET
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Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock talks to the media after day 2 of Team Canada’s orientation camp in Calgary, Alberta.
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Babcock On Team Canada Orientation Camp
by Paul on 07/30/09 at 10:26 AM ET
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from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,
If you think Canadian hockey fans are swept up in an Olympic frenzy now, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock wants you to remember one thing: You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Just wait until Canada’s roster is announced, Babcock told NHL.com, and you’ll really see a nation of hopeful nitpickers, naysayers, pundits and prognosticators.
“I’m glad I coach in the U.S., honestly,” Babcock added. “It’s just going to go crazy.”
Speculation about who will make the team figures to run rampant until the roster is made public in December. The chatter will pick up steam next month when Calgary becomes the center of the country’s hockey universe for four days as Canada holds its orientation camp Aug. 24-27.
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Advice To Team Canada Coach
by Paul on 06/26/09 at 11:51 AM ET
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from Mike Toth of Sportsnet,
Suck up to Sid the Kid, the same guy who ruined the Red Wings dream of winning back-to-back Stanleys.
Running the risk of being labeled a “homer” by naming Chris Osgood to Team Canada, and incurring Ozzie’s wrath if he doesn’t.
Convincing the Red Wings huge European brigade that he still loves them, even though he’ll go to war against them in Vancouver.
And, oh yeah; trying to make sure that an older Detroit team doesn’t get sick and tired of the same old message.
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Report- Your Team Canada Coach
by Paul on 06/23/09 at 06:30 AM ET
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from Tim Wharnsby of the Globe and Mail,
Hockey Canada and everyone involved has been tight-lipped about the appointment, but a source confirmed last night that Yzerman will announce Babcock as the coach most likely on Thursday in a press conference to take place a few blocks from Montreal’s McGill University, where Babcock played defence….
The only part of Yzerman’s announcement that will be a surprise will be the assistant coaches. Babcock’s assistants are expected to come from a group that includes Ken Hitchcock (Columbus Blue Jackets), Claude Julien (Boston Bruins), Lindy Ruff (Buffalo Sabres), Barry Trotz (Nashville Predators) and Randy Carlyle (Ducks).
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Babcock Before Game 7
by Paul on 06/12/09 at 11:30 AM ET
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Q. Any lineup or line changes for tonight?
COACH BABCOCK: No.
Q. This morning when you woke up, did it feel any different?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I think pretty much I did exactly what I always do. Went for a run. Went through the game. Did all the stuff I’ve always done. I think yesterday for me was different because it’s exciting. I mean, it’s just flat out exciting to be here.
Anywhere you go in this town, people are talking about it, and excited about it. And plan on watching it. It should be good.
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Babcock Talk On Thursday
by Paul on 06/11/09 at 12:20 PM ET
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Q. It seems like each of these games has had its own sort of identity or personality instead of one sort of leading or following naturally. Do you think that’s accurate? If so, why do you think that dynamic has been this way in this series the first six games?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I think four of the games were anybody’s game. I think two of the games were Game 4 and Game 5 to me were one team. I think they’ve both been momentum games where teams have carried momentum for large portions at a time, really tilted the rink. The other team looks like they can’t get out of their end. And then the other team seems to come back, and it just goes back and forth.
We’re not going to have to worry about any of that stuff now. It’s just an opportunity here now for both teams.
You know, I have to tell you I’ve been real impressed. I think they played hard. I think our team has played hard. The playoffs for our team this year has been as big a battle as we’ve ever had for sure. Just with what’s gone on and some of the injuries we’ve had and that. I’ve been really impressed with our team’s will, and our guys’ attitude over the last couple of days. Excited to go.
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