Renney heaps praise on Peters, Babcock
There are similarities, sure.
But this isn’t a case of Be-LikeMike.
Although Bill Peters certainly evolved while working as one of Mike Babcock’s assistants in the Motor City, another member of that staff will tell you the Calgary Flames’ current bench boss is far from a coaching clone.
“What they do is remain true to themselves. I don’t think they take on any personality other than the one they own,” said Tom Renney, who coached alongside Babcock and Peters for two winters with the Detroit Red Wings and is now the Calgary-based CEO for Hockey Canada. “And that, I think, is absolutely critical because what players identify with as much as anything else is an honest, open, sincere yet authentic individual that stands behind them at the bench. I think in both cases, that’s the case with these guys.
“There’s no question that Bill Peters is Bill Peters, period. Like all of us, we steal and borrow and utilize anything that we can from those that we share the bench with or share the experience of hockey with. I can tell you Mike has stolen from Bill, too. That’s the nature of the game.”
Renney’s lengthy resume includes stints as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers.
While working as an associate in Detroit, he figured it was just a matter of time before Peters was poached to become the go-to guy in another city. The pride of Three Hills, Alta., has now been running his own bench for the past five campaigns, four in Carolina and this his first in Calgary.
Peters will lead the Flames into Toronto for Monday’s matchup against Babcock and the Maple Leafs (5 p.m. MT, Sportsnet/ Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
“They see the game similarly, for sure. I think they coach it similarly, no doubt about that. They place a premium on the same things,” Renney said of Babcock and Peters. “They’re both well-versed in the need to be thorough. They ’re wellversed in the need to be communicative on that which is important for the moment. They don’t overtalk. They deliver the message, and that’s it. I think they’re both very good with respect to identifying what’s required of their team for the moment.
“And I think they ’re deeply committed to their own belief system and what they think works and will work.
“With that being said, they’re very much students of the game, still. And for two guys that are, in my mind, certainly at the front end of the coaching fraternity in the NHL for their acumen and skills, they remain students of the game themselves and are always looking for the best way to get things done.
“And they have work habits second-to-none.”