Former NHLer Dave Babych shed light on his hockey history during the , held Tuesday, Nov. 28, at the Sheraton hotel in Guildford.
The retired defenseman talked about his 20 seasons as a pro player, including the coaches he liked and also disliked.
Most of his years in the NHL were spent playing for Vancouver Canucks, from 1991 to 1998.
The teamās 1994 run to the Stanley Cup Final was with Pat Quinn as head coach.
āTerrific guy,ā Babych told the awards luncheon crowd. āI mean, this guy was a playerās coach, you know, probably the best overall coach Iāve seen in any sport. Iām sure thereās some that rival him but I donāt know of any.ā¦ It was amazing how prepared he was, and a very, very smart guy.ā
Later with the Canucks, Babych played for Mike Keenan, who is definitely not his favourite coach of all-time.
āWonderful guy ā Iām kidding,ā Babych said with a laugh. āHe wasnāt a very nice person, first of all, thatās just the way it was. He coached through threatening players and so on, but technically he was the worst coach Iāve ever seen, even from minor hockey to the NHL, and how he got jobs I donāt know.ā
Keenan enjoyed some success at every level of hockey, Babych noted, ābut it was very short-term, so for leadership like that, nobody needs it. I think Iāve learned a lot from all my coaches and probably the most from him of what not to do, you know, if that makes sense, because youāve got to weed out a few things and then you can define what the right path might be. But yeah, I could say more but I better not. I did not enjoy being coached by that fella.ā
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Babych played in Winnipeg, Hartford, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and in 2000 ended his pro career in Switzerland with the Ambri-Piotta club.
The Canucksā 1994 Cup run was a highlight with heartbreak, ultimately, in a loss to the Keenan-coached Rangers.
āOf course New York, you know, they they kind of broke our hearts,ā Babych said. āWe should have won that, we could have easily won it, but it was not to be. We went to Game 7, and lost, I think it was 3-2 the final game.
āIt still stings,ā he added. āI havenāt really watched any of that series just because I know the outcome, doesnāt change anything, I know. Itās funny, before the series they made us give a ring size just in case, you know, you win the championship. Iām thinking, āOh, here we go, here we go, this could be good.ā Of course, it didnāt happen. We lost.ā
Today, Babych is vice-president of the , the members of which play hockey at North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex.
āIn the wintertime, weāre older but we still enjoy going out for skates with our teammates and people weāve played with before,ā said Babych, who lives in North Vancouver.
āItās been great because we have our own dressing room, which we share with the Knights (Surreyās junior team). Added to that is weāve been connected with Wickfest, which is Hayley Wickenheiserās hockey festival for young ladies, and thereās like 2,000 participants there.
āI participated in sledge hockey for the first time ever,ā Babych added. āThe building is set up to be able to handle these kind of games and where everyone is included, and it was a lot harder than I expected, not going to lie. I was a little sore the next day in different ways than normally playing hockey, but it was terrific. Like I said, weāre just so happy that weāre included within the city, because most of us are from different places.ā
at the 2023 Surrey Arts & Business Awards is posted on Surrey Board of Tradeās Youtube channel, starting at the 23-minute mark.