The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team won the program's 11th Canada West championship with a 3-1 win over the UBC Thunderbirds on Feb. 29, 2020 at Merlis Belsher Place. (Keenan Sorokan/650 CKOM)

By CKOM News

Mike Babcock returning home as head coach of U of S Huskies

Feb 20, 2021 | 4:57 PM

Mike Babcock is coming home.

The Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medal-winning coach was announced the new head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team Saturday.

Huskie Athletics Chief Athletics Officer Dave Hardy announced the long-time NHL and Canadian national team head coach is returning to his alma matter to coach the Huskies on a full-time volunteer basis for the next two seasons.

Babcock, born in Saskatoon, replaces Dave Adolph, who announced his retirement in December 2020 after leading the program for 27 years.

“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,” Hardy said in a news release.

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“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’s history includes 17 seasons as a head coach in the NHL, including guiding the Detroit Red Wings to a Stanley Cup championship in 2008 and coaching Team 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 returning to the Western Hockey League (WHL) the next season.

Babcock went on to attend McGill University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education, before beginning his coaching career in the college ranks.

“This is a special place for me, and I look forward to having the chance to help develop these young men,” Babcock said. “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,” according to the news release.

After eight years coaching junior in the WHL, Babcock moved to the professional level where he coached the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 2019, Babcock was fired as head coach of the Maple Leafs. In the coming weeks and months, reports from former players criticized Babcock’s treatment and management style. Last month, Babcock apologized for his previous treatment towards certain players in an interview with The Athletic.

Since leaving Toronto, Babcock has 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 (The University of Saskatchewan) and to Huskie Athletics as the new head coach of the men’s hockey team,” U of S President Peter Stoicheff said in the release.

“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 role with the Huskies in May 2021, after Adolph officially retires in May.

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 for the 2021-22 season.

“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,” Dave King, a former Huskie coach and member of the selection committee, according to the news release.

“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 the U of S 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,” Hardy said. “With the appointment of Mike Babcock, we are succeeding in that commitment.”