As we ready our popcorn and PVRs for the debut of 24/7: Road to the Winter Classic, we count down the top 10 characters on the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings we’re most excited to get to know better. No. 3: Mike Babcock
In football and basketball, the guy with the headset or clipboard is often referred to simply as “Coach.” That’s never really taken hold in hockey vernacular, but if one bench boss could inspire change on that front, it’s Mike Babcock.
If you’d never seen a hockey game in your life but happened to witness Babcock doing something as random as buying gum, you’d look at him and think, “This guy is a leader of men.”
Not only does he have the broad shoulders and square jaw of a man in charge, Babcock clearly has a mind that never stops figuring out a better way to do things. If he were buying a pack of Juicy Fruit, he’d probably question the cashier about his or her technique on the register and suggest a more efficient way to scan a product and make change.
Explaining things is just what Babcock does. Sometimes, during a stoppage of play, he’ll jump down and mark up a play right on top of the boards in front of the Wings bench. Hey, when a teachable moment arises, there’s no time to locate the whiteboard. It will be fantastic to get a behind-the-curtain look at Babcock preaching in the dressing room or, even better, during a one-on-one session with a player in the video room.
Babcock also has the credibility and confidence to speak his mind, which he does without lowering himself to lashing out. When the media asked him if he was ready to hit the panic button after losing game one of Detroit’s second-round series with the Chicago Blackhawks last year, he didn’t chastise anyone—he just did what great coaches do and culled a few moments from the game to make a crystal-clear point:
While he projects a great stoicism on the bench, Babcock—along with some other Wings—has also glimpsed a sense of humour:
Who knows what else a close-up look will reveal about Coach.
Tune in as 24/7 follows the Maple Leafs and Red Wings on the road to the NHL’s Winter Classic, Jan. 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The first episode debuts at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 15 on Sportsnet East, Ontario and Pacific.
