Wit and wisdom of Mike Babcock, World Cup edition

TORONTO – Mike Babcock, head coach of Team Canada and the Toronto Maple Leafs, is a delight in a press conference, managing to be insightful one moment and then cantankerous the next and then insightfully cantankerous after that.

Like, for example, these three answers during his media availability on the eve of Game 2 of the World Cup of Hockey final, with Canada leading Team Europe 1-0 in their best-of-three. Babcock talked about his success as a coach in the NHL and internationally, and how he approaches Thursday night’s game.

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Enjoy!

Q. What defines you as a coach? What’s your secret?

BABCOCK: “It’s called ‘good players.’ I finished dead last in the National Hockey League last year, over an 82-game period. Worst coach in hockey. So let’s not get carried away here. It’s been a good month.”

Q. How has your work as a professional coach prepared you for this?

BABCOCK: “If you move from Moose Jaw to New York City, it’s a big jump. But if you kind of go from a little bigger town to a little bigger town to a little bigger town, when you arrive in New York City, it doesn’t seem quite as big. The same thing happens here. You build a résumé over time – no different than you people in your business – and you get confident and comfortable in what you’re doing. The more you win, the more you feel like you can win. The more success you have, the more steady you are on your rudder. You don’t feel like you need to change. You know what you know and you do what you do. That doesn’t mean that you’re not going to try and get better all the time. In saying all that, it’s just called confidence.”

“I want to make this clear: We’ve talked way too much about me today. You need players.”

Q. What’s the preparation like for a coach before a game like this?

BABCOCK: “We did our work. I got a workout in. I’m gonna go home, go out for dinner with the coaches and their wives. I’m gonna enjoy that. We’re gonna have a team meeting tonight. I’m gonna sleep great. I’m gonna get up in the morning.

“Like, I’m going to do what I do. That’s what you do. You do what you do. So I’m going to do the same thing.

“I love life. I live a full life. I’m not just coaching the Leafs. There are other things I love to do. I enjoy my life. I expect my players to do the same.”

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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