Babcock to take over as head coach of U of S Huskies
Former Moose Jaw Warriors, longtime NHL head coach to lead team for next two years on full-time, volunteer basis
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team has a new head coach, and he’s someone Moose Jaw Warriors fans — and hockey fans in general — will be familiar with.
The Huskies announced that former Warriors bench boss Mike Babcock will take over the team from Dave Adolph, who retired this past summer after 27 years behind the U of S bench.
“I am excited to work with Huskie athletes, back in my hometown, at the university where I had the opportunity to play under legendary coach Dave King,” said Babcock in a press release from the team. He suited up for one season with the Huskies in 1981-82 before going back to the Western Hockey League. He later attended McGill University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education. “This is a special place for me, and I look forward to having the chance to help develop these young men,” Babcock added. “Saskatchewan has provided me many opportunities in my life and my career, and I am truly excited about the opportunity to give back.” Moose Jaw marked the first stop in Babcock’s coaching
career outside of the college ranks, joining the team for the 1991-92 season after three years behind the bench of the Red Deer College Kings.
He’d spend two years with the Warriors, coaching the team to a 33-36-3 record in his first season and finishing 27-42-3 in 1992-93, his final season in Moose Jaw. Babcock would later spend six seasons as head coach of the
Spokane Chiefs, reaching the WHL final twice, before breaking into the NHL as head coach of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2002.
That would lead to a 17-year career in the NHL that included guiding the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup championship in 2008 and coaching Canada to back-toback Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014. Babcock is the only coach in hockey history to have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, the World Cup, the world hockey championship and the world junior championship. “This is an exciting and historic day for Huskie Athletics, and we are thrilled that Mike wants to come back home to lead our men’s hockey program,” said Huskies Chief Athletics Officer Dave Hardy. “We are extremely fortunate that the timing lined up perfectly to create this opportunity. Mike’s track record of success speaks for itself, and he will be a great addition to Huskie Athletics, to the men’s hockey program, and to the local hockey community.”
Babcock will lead the Huskies on a full-time volunteer basis for the next two seasons.
Moose Jaw Warriors forward Tate Popple has been playing hockey for over a decade and a half, spending huge amounts of time every single winter on the ice for practices, games and everything in between. So you’d better believe that not having a chance to do so for the first time since he was a toddler has been just a little bit weird.
But that’s all about to change. Popple, 20, and his Warriors teammates are just under a couple weeks away from reporting to Regina for the Western Hockey League’s East Division bubble, beginning with the shortest of ‘training camp’ imaginable before the 24-game schedule begins on Mar. 12.
“I can’t think of a time when I’ve gone at least a full year without playing a game, maybe since I started playing hockey, it’s definitely been a long time,” Popple said from his home in Brandon.
“It’s been long, but we’ve been able to deal with it. We’ve been shut down here in Manitoba quite a while, so it’s just been trying to find stuff to do. I’ve got a little home gym going, but now we’re able to skate in small groups, which is nice. It’s been good to get a few skates in before we head out.”
The Warriors players were informed of the return-to-play plan by general manager Alan Millar and head coach Mark O’Leary on Feb. 11 in a mass Zoom call. There were lots of smiling faces once the news hit home.
“I think everybody was just super excited, everyone wants to get back playing and we’re obviously very fortunate that we can get back out there and get in some games again,” Popple said.
The rumours had been swirling for weeks prior to the official announcement, with word first filtering out in late January that a bubble format might be a thing for the East Division. Thing is, it wasn’t the first time hopes had been high. There had been the proposed October start, then December, then January, and each time the deadline passed and the goalposts moved. “I think that was pretty tough on myself and obviously everybody else,” Popple said. “It was looking that we were going to go a couple times there, but obviously with what was going on they weren’t able to make that happen. So to finally get approval and get things going, everyone is really looking forward to it.”
As has been reported multiple times, the East Division teams will converge on Regina and play all their games out of the Brandt Centre, practice at the Co-Operator’s Centre and live in the University of Regina and Luther College dormitories. As one might expect, it’ll be a completely different situation than anything the vast, vast majority of players have ever been through.
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like, but I think it’ll be a cool experience for everybody,” Popple said. “We’re all going to be excited about playing, it’s been a long time, so I don’t think anyone is going to be too picky. It’ll be fun to get in there, it’s going to be a lot of time with the guys, hanging out every day and playing hockey which is really all you can ask for.” When it comes to preparation, Popple didn’t have the luxury of playing for an MJHL team during the long break but was able to hook up with some of his Warriors Manitoba teammates — nine players on the team’s roster are from the southern part of the province, including four from Brandon proper — for periodic ice sessions in addition to just staying in touch. “There was a big group skate this summer and then again in the fall before the second big shutdown happened,” Popple said. “We’ve been chatting and hanging out lots during the summer and now during the winter, so it’ll be nice to see the guys again.”
One thing that’s for certain is how much
improvement the Warriors will be looking for. Last season was a trying one for the crew and a far cry from what Popple experienced in his rookie season with the club — the 2017-18 season that saw Moose Jaw win the Scotty Munro Trophy as the WHL’s top regular-season team. Taking a step back in that direction will be the primary goal of the shortened campaign.
“We’re only losing our 20-year-olds and going in there with an almost identical team as last year, which is great,” said Popple, who was named an assistant captain for the club. “We have a lot of young guys coming up who are going to be a year older and some young guys who are going to come in and be contributors.” For himself, seeing the kind of 20-yearold offensive jump shown by the likes of Tristin Langan and Tanner Jeannot in recent seasons would certainly be welcome. “It’ll be important to get off to a real good start, but honestly, if we can just get out there and get things going on the right foot right away, hopefully I’ll be a big part of that,” Popple said, adding that being one
of the rugged veterans of the WHL wars this season will take some getting used to. “It’s been awhile in Moose Jaw and it’s been nothing but the best,” he said. “It’ll definitely be different being the oldest guy in the room, I remember going in there and being the young guy and looking up to everybody, so that’s something you have to take in and be a leader for the young guys.”
Normally, it would be a touch unusual to be talking about post-junior plans at the very start of a season, but this isn’t usual. The 24 games won’t take long to play, and after that, it’ll be off to future endeavours. “It’s going to happen super quick; it feels like it’s going to fly by,” Popple said. “But for next year, I’ve been talking to some schools and I think that’s what I want to do, continue my education and with the scholarship we get from the league, put that to use and continue to play hockey too.
“So I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do… it’s a short 24-game season so we’re going to go in there and hope for the best and see what happens.”
The Moose Jaw Miller Express have the names on the dotted line, now it’s time to see just what their new players are capable of on the diamond with their college and university teams.
And so far, the news has been pretty good for the handful of future Western Canadian Baseball League players already taking the field.
Junior infielder Chase Anderson has seen both himself and his team get off to a solid start. Metropolitan State University Denver swept Fort Hayes in their season-opening series during the Feb. 19 weekend, and Anderson played a large role in their success.
Anderson is hitting .325 through the first four games, having scored eight runs to go along with a home run, three runs batted in and a .934 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS).
Senior relief pitcher Garrett Moltzan and Texas Wesleyan University already have 10 games under their belt and hold a 6-4 record — with five games cancelled due to the vicious cold snap in that part of the world last week.
Moltzan has been solid, making five relief appearances and allowing only three runs on eight hits through 9 innings of work for a 2.79 earned run average. He’s struck out 18 while allowing only six walks. Junior second baseman Nick Erickson and Kansas Wesleyan hold a 4-4 record through the first three weeks of their season. Erickson has a .250 average through 15 at bats in five games, having scored three runs and knocked in pair to go along with a .583 OPS.
Freshman pitcher Julian Zamora made his first NCAA Division II appearance for Washburn University on Feb. 19 vs. the Regis University Rangers and went 1 ⅓ innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and striking out one. Senior redshirt pitcher Jonathan Ellison (Division I McNeese State), freshman infielder Thomas Soto (Division I Dayton
University) and outfielder/pitcher Kyle Froehlich (Colby Community College) all have yet to take the field for their respective teams.
Mitchell University (Jeff Nicolosi, Jeremy Sagun, Anthony Diaz) kick off their
season this weekend against Immaculata University.
The Moose Jaw Miller Express open their 2020-21 WCBL campaign on May 28 when they host the Medicine Hat Mavericks at Ross Wells Park.
Throughout the Zoom press conference announcing Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Alan Millar was leaving the team, a common theme kept coming up: just how much things had changed for the team in a positive direction through his 10-year tenure with the Western Hockey League franchise.
From the overall strength of the front office, to the solidity of the franchise financially and right into the overall player culture and ‘feel’ around the team, the Warriors are a much, much different crew than they were when Millar took over in 2010.
So when Millar and the Warriors announced that he’d be leaving the team to join Hockey Canada as the Director of Player Personnel for the Program of Excellence, it was met with plenty of mixed emotions.
“Alan and I got to know each other right off the start, I was on the hiring committee back in those days and picked him up at the Regina airport,” Warriors president Chad Taylor said. “And I remember how confident Al was in that interview and we knew right then he was going to be our next general manager.
“For the last 10 years, Al has grown this organization; he’s brought a number of cultural changes to the Moose Jaw Warriors. You look at how we play today versus the years before (Al arriving), his big focus was speed, skill and player IQ and I think he delivered. Then transitioning to Mosaic Place from the Civic Centre, there are a lot of great memories of where we were and to what we’ve grown into.” The ‘grown into’ part is one of the true success stories in the WHL over the last decade. Once a team that occasionally found itself in tough times on the balance sheet, the Warriors now regularly turn a profit, to the point the league considers the team a ‘mid-market’ franchise on par with teams from much larger centres.
And while that’s all a source of pride for Millar, you wouldn’t know it from the Zoom conference. No, it was all about all the help he received along the way, from the board to the community to the staff and players. In fact, he’d likely still be thanking folks if it wasn’t for the presser time constraints.
“What can I say, the last 10 years have flown by,” Millar said. “It’s been a great experience both personally and professionally. When I look at the great people that I’ve met here in Moose Jaw and the Western Hockey League and I’ll certainly move on here with lifelong friendships that I look forward to continuing for years to come.
“I’ve been involved with the Canadian Hockey League for a long time, between my time as a manager in the OHL and tenure in Moose Jaw. I’ve really enjoyed my time in this league, and as Chad knows over the years, there has been the odd phone call about other opportunities, but it was only going to take something I felt was a special opportunity to have me wanting to think about leaving the Moose Jaw Warriors, and I was presented that opportunity by Hockey Canada.”
The reason it was going to take something special to pry Millar away from Moose Jaw is a good one.
“I think this is one of the best franchises in the CHL,” he said. “I know it’s in a smaller market but when you consider the support and the passion of our fan base, the dedication of our corporate partners… like any manager in sports, I’m sure the fans didn’t always agree with the moves we made, but I know we always did it with the best interest in mind to win a championship, and good or bad they always supported the team and that sure was important.”
The team’s evolution into what it is today didn’t happen overnight, of course. It took time, building on a desire to win from year to year and creating a situation where players who stepped into the Warriors’ dressing room knew they were entering an environment focussed on positive results.
“We really challenged each other, the professionalism of the organization and how we treated people, the continuity within the staff and having long-tenured people here, whether it was on the coaching side or in the front office, doing things the right way was real important,” Millar said. “I feel good that we’ve accomplished a lot of that, and it wasn’t just me, I’ve worked with a lot of great people and had a lot of great support from our board.”
The New Job
So, just what does the Director of Player Personnel for the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence do?
Millar will be one of the people in charge of player personnel, player evaluations, camp rosters and team rosters for every team under 20 in the national organizing body’s umbrella of work.
That includes the National Junior Team, U18 World Championship team, Hlinka Gretzky U18 team and the U17 World Challenge program — essentially, if you’re an up-and-coming player looking to play for your country, Millar will have set eyes on you at some point.
“It’s a unique position, where it’s not only a lot of scouting and managing on the
player personnel side, but an opportunity to lead programs and manage teams in the Program of Excellence,” Millar said. “I’ve had the honour even back in my time in the OHL of being on (general manager) committees putting Canada-Russia rosters together, joining the Hockey Canada management group and learning how they do things… It’ll be a lot of travel, tracking the players and working with the staff in Calgary, it’s all something I’m looking forward to as well.”
For now, Millar will continue to work with the Warriors through the upcoming 24-game hub schedule in Regina but will also be in contact with Hockey Canada. He and wife Kelly will be moving to Calgary in the off-season, likely sometime in July.
The Next General Manager
Fortunately for the Warriors, Millar’s decision leaves the team on a decent footing even while opening a tremendous hole. With more than seven months until the 2021-22 season, vetting candidates and choosing the best fit for the job can take place at an unpanicked pace.
One of the first candidates, naturally, will be current assistant general manager Jason Ripplinger, who has held his position since the 2018-19 season and has over two decades as a scout and director of player personnel in the WHL.
“The board has a decision to make, but we have time on our hands,” Taylor said. “We can get through this hub and the 24 games and then look at this organization and see where everything fits. The bigger question is if Mr. Ripplinger is ready to take on the new role; I’m looking forward to sitting down with Jason and see what his thoughts are, and I’m sure he’ll be interested in the job. We’ll follow our due
diligence and my job is to make sure we bring the best person forward before making a decision.”
Watching From Afar
One thing that’s for certain, Millar won’t be leaving the Warriors in his rear-view mirror.
No, when you’ve invested as much time and effort as he has in the team and trying to build a winner, you’re going to be very interested in how your project looks going forward, even if you’re not at the helm. That’s especially true for the current crew of Warriors, who are in year two of a rebuild that could see plenty of positive results in the near future.
“I’m excited about where the team is at, after the 2018 run we put a plan in place to get our house back in order,” Millar said, referring to major trades that sent all-star defenceman Jett Woo to Calgary and NHL first round draft pick Brayden Tracey to Victoria.
“As we’ve always done here with this management group, we didn’t want to just get by, we tried to make tough decisions and there were some peaks and valleys, but we wanted to put groups together to try and win a championship… I wanted to win here so bad, and 2018 will haunt me a bit in terms of how close we were, but in terms of moving forward, there’s a lot of very good young players here, lots of picks.”
That’s why Millar will be keeping close tabs on the Mark O’Leary-led crew the next few seasons, at least.
“I’m excited to watch this group, I think we’re going to take a really big step and I’m excited to watch the guys in the hub and this will be a really exciting team next season,” he said.