U of A coaching great Drake dies

Hockey Hall of Fame coach Clare Drake died on Saturday at the age of 89.

Drake coached the University of Alberta Golden Bears to six Canadian university men’s hockey championships and 17 Canada West conference championships.

“It is a sad day for Golden Bears Hockey. Last night we lost Coach Drake. At this time, we would like to extend our condolences to his wife Dolly and the rest of his family. What Clare Drake did for the game of hockey is truly staggering. You will never be forgotten Coach,” said a tweet from the school on Sunday, announcing Drake’s death.

Drake was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 in the builder category. Beyond his championships in 28 years at the University of Alberta, Drake influenced a generation of future NHL coaches, including Ken Hitchcock, Mike Babcock and Barry Trotz.

“He shared everything he knew with you, and he used it all against you when he competed,” said Hitchcock before Drake was inducted into the Hall of Fame in November. “You couldn’t find a guy that meant more to the game of hockey in Canada than Clare Drake.”

Drake was teaching and coaching several teams at Strathcona Composite High School in 1955 when he joined the Golden Bears as interim head coach and won his first league championship.

Three years later, he was appointed to become full-time head coach of the Golden Bears. By the time he retired in 1989, he had 697 wins, 296 losses and 37 ties with a .695 win percentage.