Mike Babcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Michael Babcock Jr. (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach currently serving as head coach of University of Saskatchewan men's ice hockey program. He previously spent parts of eighteen seasons as a professional and head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). He began as head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, whom he led to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. In 2005, Babcock signed with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2008, and helping them to the Stanley Cup playoffs every year during his tenure, becoming the winningest coach in Red Wings history. In 2015, he left Detroit after ten seasons to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs, a position he held until 2019.
Babcock was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, and grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. As of March 2022, he is the only coach to gain entry to the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup title, IIHF World Championship title, and Olympic gold medal in men's ice hockey). He guided the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008; he led Team Canada to gold at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004; and he led Team Canada to gold at both the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Babcock is the only coach to win six distinct national or international titles. In addition to the three distinct titles described above, he guided Canada to gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, to gold at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1997, and the University of Lethbridge to the CIS University Cup in 1994. During his professional coaching tenure from 1991–2019, Babcock's teams only missed the post-season four times.