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 team鈥檚 1994 run to the Stanley Cup Final was with Pat Quinn as head coach.

鈥淭errific guy,鈥� Babych told the awards luncheon crowd. 鈥淚 mean, this guy was a player鈥檚 coach, you know, probably the best overall coach I鈥檝e seen in any sport. I鈥檓 sure there鈥檚 some that rival him but I don鈥檛 know of any.鈥� It was amazing how prepared he was, and a very, very smart guy.鈥�

Later with the Canucks, Babych played for Mike Keenan, who is definitely not his favourite coach of all-time.

鈥淲onderful guy 鈥� I鈥檓 kidding,鈥� Babych said with a laugh. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 a very nice person, first of all, that鈥檚 just the way it was. He coached through threatening players and so on, but technically he was the worst coach I鈥檝e ever seen, even from minor hockey to the NHL, and how he got jobs I don鈥檛 know.鈥�

Keenan enjoyed some success at every level of hockey, Babych noted, 鈥渂ut it was very short-term, so for leadership like that, nobody needs it. I think I鈥檝e 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 you鈥檝e 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.鈥�

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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 Canucks鈥� 1994 Cup run was a highlight with heartbreak, ultimately, in a loss to the Keenan-coached Rangers.

鈥淥f course New York, you know, they they kind of broke our hearts,鈥� Babych said. 鈥淲e 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.

鈥淚t still stings,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 really watched any of that series just because I know the outcome, doesn鈥檛 change anything, I know. It鈥檚 funny, before the series they made us give a ring size just in case, you know, you win the championship. I鈥檓 thinking, 鈥極h, here we go, here we go, this could be good.鈥� Of course, it didn鈥檛 happen. We lost.鈥�

Today, Babych is vice-president of the , the members of which play hockey at North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex.

鈥淚n the wintertime, we鈥檙e older but we still enjoy going out for skates with our teammates and people we鈥檝e played with before,鈥� said Babych, who lives in North Vancouver.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been great because we have our own dressing room, which we share with the Knights (Surrey鈥檚 junior team). Added to that is we鈥檝e been connected with Wickfest, which is Hayley Wickenheiser鈥檚 hockey festival for young ladies, and there鈥檚 like 2,000 participants there.

鈥淚 participated in sledge hockey for the first time ever,鈥� Babych added. 鈥淭he 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, we鈥檙e just so happy that we鈥檙e included within the city, because most of us are from different places.鈥�

at the 2023 Surrey Arts & Business Awards is posted on Surrey Board of Trade鈥檚 Youtube channel, starting at the 23-minute mark.