Why Hockey Canada chose Mike Babcock over Joel Quenneville for World Cup job

Mike Babcock was formally introduced Thursday as Canada’s head coach for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey tournament which will take place next September. He’ll be assisted by Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks, Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals, Bill Peters of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins.

Team Canada’s GM Doug Armstrong said the final decision came down between Babcock and Quenneville, and that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ head coach’s previous international experience and success was the biggest factor.

“Having Mike with our staff, he’s proven that he can take a group of players and mold them quickly and effectively into a two-week tournament and come out on top,” Armstrong said.

“Mike’s resume speaks for itself.”

“When Army called me I couldn’t say no,” Babcock told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

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Babcock will guide Canada’s bench for the fourth time in his coaching career. He’s led teams to gold at the 1997 World Junior Championships, the 2004 World Championships and the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. He’s the only coach in the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club, which features winners of the Stanley Cup, Worlds and Olympics.

In his preparation for making a head coaching decision, Armstrong said that he consulted with players who previously played under Babcock with Team Canada. The players told him they felt well-prepared heading into those tournaments and confident in the gameplan that was drawn up.

Quenneville’s success with the Blackhawks put him neck-and-neck with Babcock in many people’s minds for the World Cup job. But in the end, Armstrong and his staff went with familiarity, but made sure to include Quenneville on the staff.

“That’s what made it so difficult. It wasn’t just a slam dunk because Mike had that success at the Olympics,” Armstrong said. “Joel certainly deserved the consideration all the way until the last second to where he got it. When I talked to Joel, it showed the character of the man, he just said I’m just fortunate to be part of it, I’ll take any role that you’ll want to give me. It was great when he approaches this event like that. You know you have everybody pulling the rope in the same direction.”

“If Q would have been given this opportunity and he would have asked me I would have said absolutely,” said Babcock. “I’m a fan of Q’s. He’s done a great job.”

Armstrong and his staff will meet soon to discuss players, with the first 16 needing to be announced by March 1, which is the day after the NHL’s trade deadline. He said he’d like to get that announcement out of the way before then so as to not conflict with any important decisions he might need to make for his day job.

Canada is grouped with the U.S., Czech Republic and Team Europe. Will Babcock prepare any differently than he has for past tournaments? Perhaps.

“Are we breaking out the ball hockey again? Probably not,” Babcock joked, referencing a day during Canada’s Olympic summer camp in 2013. “If they let us on the ice we won’t be doing that.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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