TORONTO – Mike Babcock was floated a general question Tuesday about Olympic athletes and immediately pivoted to a specific pair he refers to as the best of the best.
“Tessa [Virtue] and Scott [Moir] last night, if you’re Canadian and you see them…” begins Babcock before stag-leaping, as he so often does, to life’s grander picture.
“I gotta tell ya, when they were going back [to the Winter Games] a third time, I wondered what they were doing.
“It just goes to show you, when you have passion and you have a dream and want to get things done, it’s unbelievable what you can do. I think there’s lots of inspirational moments for all of us in life. When you watch the best of the best grind, and their sticktoitiveness, that’s what makes them champions. Your skill only gets you so far.”
It’s a lesson for the world. It’s a lesson, more specifically, Babcock has been emphasizing to the wonderfully gifted and steadily improving Toronto Maple Leafs.
“What we do and what they do is exactly the same. Ability to execute under pressure is so important,” Babcock says. “I always tell people the difference between good and great is your passion and ability to stick with it and keep grinding.
“To me that’s what champions do. They never ever in their mind believe they’re not going to get it done.”
Congratulations to 2018 Olympic Gold Medalists (and @MapleLeafs fans), @tessavirtue and @ScottMoir!
We’ll see you for a game soon. #PyeongChang2018
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 20, 2018
Drive train. Work ethic. Belief.
Virtue and Moir first won gold together at Vancouver’s 2010 edition of the Games, the same event that saw Babcock raise his arms as Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal for the Canadian men’s hockey squad. After settling for silver in Sochi, the dance pair considered walking away.
Instead, they became the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history. Watching vigilantly from 14 time zones away, Babcock has been open about his jealousy of and support for Canada’s athletes in Pyeongchang, many of whom he established relationships with during his two golden coaching runs.
The hockey man and curling fan reached out to Canada’s women’s curling squad through skip Rachel Homan to deliver a word of encouragement over the weekend.
“It’s fun to be involved in a little way from a distance – a little text, a little call, but I appreciate it,” Babcock says. “It’s so fortunate to go to the Olympics and meet so many great people.”
Leafs centre Nazem Kadri has crossed paths with Virtue and Moir a few times, as he too honed his craft on rinks in the London, Ont., area.
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“Very genuine and humble people. Seeing them win makes us and the rest of the country happy,” Kadri says. “Watching the things they do out there leaves you in awe. They’ve certainly put in a lot of practice and are in the moment.”
As with the rest of the Leafs, Kadri has learned from club skating coach Barb Underhill, an Olympic pairs skater in her own right.
“Hockey and figure skating have a little different style. Their balance is obviously exceptional, and their edgework is certainly second to none,” explains Kadri, who stuck with power skating as a kid. “[Figure skaters] have got to have the power, too — and the ability and flexibility. They’re true athletes and true competitors.”
Kardi also gives a nod to tiny Ilderton, Ont., (population: 1,856), the rural community north of London that spawned the champions.
“It’s a small town. That makes it that much harder to break out of it and become a superstar,” Kadri notes. “So good for them.”
The love flows both ways.
Moir filmed a feature for CBC in which he donned a Maple Leafs sweater to play some shinny and signed off the duo’s Sportsnet 590 The Fan radio interview Tuesday by piping, “Go Leafs!”
It’s probably safe to say that Virtue and Moir will be dropping a ceremonial puck at the feet of Babcock’s players sometime soon.
