Huskies weren’t willing to let shot at Babcock pass them by: CAO Hardy

University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Huskies Chief Athletics Officer Dave Hardy is a firm believer in one of Wayne Gretzky’s most famous lines: “You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take.”

Hardy applied those words of wisdom when searching for a successor to lead the men’s hockey program. Long-time head coach Dave Adolph departs as the winningest coach in the history of Canadian men’s university hockey after 27 years.

Leading the search for a new hire, Hardy reached out to Mike Babcock. Babcock was one of the most decorated coaches still active in the sport, and Hardy said he was not expecting much — but you gotta shoot your shot, right?

“I had reached out to a couple people that I had known, that I thought would be outstanding candidates — Mike was one of them,” Hardy said in a phone interview.

“I thought it was probably a long shot. The more that we talked, the more that it seemed like this was going to be a good fit. It took a little while for everything to fit together, but it finally did. It’s just an outstanding opportunity for Huskie Athletics, but I think for the community, for us, to bring Mike Babcock home.”

Babcock was announced as the program’s new head coach on a “full-time volunteer basis” for the next two seasons Saturday.

With a strong connection to plenty of family and friends still in the area, Hardy said the idea of returning to his hometown slowly became tempting for the two-time Olympic gold medal coach.

This isn’t the first time Hardy tried to recruit Babcock, but it is the first successful attempt. Hardy has known Babcock since he was a teenager, cruising up and down the hallways at Holy Cross High School.

“I knew he was a tough kid and I was recruiting him to try and play football and drop hockey,” Hardy, a former football coach, said.

“I was close! Luckily for everybody, he chose the hockey route and it was a great career decision for him.”

Babcock played for the Huskies in the 1981-82 season. After a coaching career that’s included Stanley Cup, World Championships and university championships, he’s going back to where it all began, but it might not be for long.

Hardy understands the lure of NHL clubs will exist, and he’s fine with it.

“We’ll take Mike for as long as we can get him. Those are the realities of having somebody that everybody else would love to have. We got him, and we celebrate that,” Hardy said.

Babcock’s recent history comes under fire

Alternatively, Babcock’s hiring was possible because of an unfavourable recent past.

After being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019, former players began alleging Babcock’s treatment towards teammates, especially younger players, was too critical.

Over the following weeks, players painted Babcock as a bully that was verbally abusive and needlessly harsh. Babcock broke his 14-month silence in an interview with The Athletic last month, regretting and apologizing for his actions. Hardy is confident that’s not the type of coach arriving in the spring.

“We knew that would be an issue. He was truly sorry that the relationship he had with some of those players didn’t work out,” Hardy said, pointing to the many hundreds of players that have been coached by Babcock.

“He said every year, you learn a little bit about how you can get better. I think his relationships with players are significant to him. Mike is a lifelong learner, he’ll continue to get better.”

Babcock will follow the lead of Dave King and the Huskies hiring committee to get up to speed, and Hardy said his first order is to get Babcock in touch with Dave Adolph, who always had a knack for bringing Saskatchewan-born players back to the U of S.

“The first question when I talked to Mike about this, he asked how many good Saskatchewan 20-year-olds are in the WHL right now. He will follow that recipe as well,” Hardy said.

While the next Canada West season is expected to start in the fall, any sort of timeline becomes blurry with COVID-19 and ongoing vaccination efforts. Babcock’s new job begins on May 1, but Hardy isn’t sure when he will land in the bridge city.

Telling Hardy his most favourite, and best work, has been at the college and junior level, the new Huskies bench boss is ready to bury an unflattering period and begin a new one surrounded by familiar faces.

“I think he relished the opportunity to get back, to teach and to practice where the ratio of games to practice is quite a bit different than the professional circuit,” Hardy said. “I think this was very attractive to him, from a professional perspective, as well.”