Ken Babey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ken Babey
Born (1954-10-24) October 24, 1954 (age 67)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationBA, 1979, University of Saskatchewan
MA, University of Montana
OccupationIce hockey coach

Ken Babey (born October 24, 1954) is a Canadian ice hockey coach. He spent 27 years as the head coach of the men's hockey team at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, finishing his career as the coaching record leader. Babey was also chosen to coach Canada men's national ice sledge hockey team, where he helped them defeat the United States to capture a gold medal at the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships.

Early life[]

Babey was born on October 24, 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[1] He played junior hockey with the Saskatoon Quakers before suffering a career-ending shoulder injury.[2] Babey graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1979 and accepted a coaching position in Calgary.[3]

Career[]

While obtaining his Master's degree in physical education at the University of Montana, Babey worked as an assistant coach for Calgary's Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Trojan hockey team. He also began coaching midget ice hockey teams in Saskatoon and Calgary, winning numerous provincial, city and tournament championships. In January 1988, Babey was promoted to head coach for the Trojan hockey team.[3] In his first year as head coach, Babey guided the Trojans to a 5–18–1 record in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.[4] During the 1997 Championship, the Trojans finished the three-team, round-robin portion of the tournament with two wins but lost in the finals against the Cambrian Golden Shield.[5] Two years following their defeat, the Trojans won their second title in school history after scoring six times in two periods to beat the Sir Sandford Flemming Knights 16–2.[6] Following their championship win, Babey was named the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association's Coach of the Year.[7]

Babey followed his first title with eight more championships in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014 and the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championship in 2000.[8] On January 22, 2004, Babey surpassed the record for regular-season wins in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference with his 246th win.[9] Following this, he was recognized by the Calgary Booster Club as a local leader.[10] A few years later, in 2010, he reached 400 wins including 351 regular-season wins.[11] Following his 27th year as head coach of the SAIT Trojans, Babey retired as the regular-season and post-season winningest coach in Canadian post-secondary hockey history. He coached 849 games, won 534, and earned 89 ACAC medals and 18 CCCA medals during his 17-year tenure as athletic director.[12] In recognition of his accomplishments internationally and provincially, Babey was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.[2]

International[]

While serving as head coach of the Trojans, Babey was selected to coach for Hockey Canada at their Canada men's national ice hockey team selection camps from 1990 to 1998.[2] In 1996, former Calgary Flames coach Dave King selected Babey and to assist him with the selection for the Japanese junior national team.[13] In 2000, Babey was named Head Coach of the 2000–2001 Canada men's national ice hockey team[14] and later served as an assistant coach at the 2003 Slovakia Cup.[15]

In 2006, Babey was selected to coach the Denmark men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[16] He was chosen to coach the team again in 2007 after he helped the team earn a spot in the 'A pool' the previous season.[17] On December 30, 2007, Babey was selected to coach the Denmark men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships[18] and under-20, Pool B championship in mid-December. In order to accept the position, he was forced to miss two Trojan games.[19]

Following his retirement from SAIT, Babey was named head coach of Canada's national sledge hockey team for the 2014–15 season.[8] In spite of his lack of experience, Babey was praised by captain Greg Westlake who said "he [Babey] put us on the path to success."[20] In his first year as coach, he led the team to a silver medal at the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships.[21] The following year, Babey was again named head coach alongside assistant coach Brandon Reid and manager Marshall Starkman.[22] In his second year, he helped lead Canada's national sledge hockey team to two silver medals; first at the inaugural Ice Sledge Hockey Pan Pacific Championship after losing to team USA[23] and again during the 2016 World Sledge Hockey Challenge.[24]

Babey returned to Canada's national sledge hockey team for a third term as head coach, where he led the team to their first gold medal since 2013 at the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships.[25] The following year, he also coached Canada's national sledge hockey team at the 2018 Winter Paralympics where they competed against the United States for their first chance at a gold medal since 2006.[26]

References[]

  1. ^ "Ken Babey". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Graves, Wendy (March 27, 2015). "BABEY CALLED TO ALBERTA HOCKEY HALL OF FAME". hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "SAIT Trojans hire Babey as head coach". The StarPhoenix. January 14, 1988. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Stewart, Monte (September 28, 1988). "SAIT's coach has set high goal for troops". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  5. ^ Kimberley, Todd (March 24, 1997). "Trojans falter in bid for crown". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Kimberley, Todd (March 16, 2000). "Trojans Hockey team's second title in school history". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Kimberley, Todd (March 17, 2000). "SAIT's Babey honoured as top coach". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Babey named Canada's sledge hockey coach". paralympic.org. January 16, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  9. ^ "Babey 's No. 1 in ACAC wins". Calgary Herald. January 30, 2004. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "The Calgary Booster Club's honoured athletic leaders for 2005". Calgary Herald. February 11, 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Toneguzzi, Mario (January 14, 2010). "Trojans' Babey boasts 417 wins and counting". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Hall, V. (June 5, 2014). "Athletic director and hockey coach, Ken Babey leaving SAIT after 27 years". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Kimberley, Todd (July 30, 1996). "King imports Calgary". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "KEN BABEY NAMED HEAD COACH OF 2000 NATIONAL MEN'S UNDER 18 TEAM". hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. June 7, 2000. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  15. ^ MacGillivray, Lauren (December 10, 2003). "Nationals recognize Babey's expertise". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  16. ^ Kimberley, Todd (July 20, 2006). "SAIT coach takes over Danish juniors". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Mingo, Rita (November 29, 2007). "Babey's ready for Grade 'A challenge". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Wharnsby, Tim (December 30, 2007). "Denmark's coach a familiar face". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  19. ^ Down, John (September 26, 2006). "Babey dives into Danish job". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  20. ^ Mitchell, Kevin (June 24, 2017). "Saskatoon's Babey lives a "life dream" through sledge hockey". The StarPhoenix. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "U.S. defeats Canada in world sledge hockey final". Toronto Star. May 3, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "HOCKEY CANADA TAPS INTO NEW GENERATION OF SLEDGE HOCKEY PLAYERS". hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. March 10, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  23. ^ "Canada's sledge hockey team ends season with silver at Pan-Pacifics". cbc.ca. April 2, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  24. ^ "U.S. tops Canada in OT for gold at sledge challenge". mississauga.com. January 23, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  25. ^ "Canada defeats U.S. to win gold at para hockey world championship". nanaimonewsnow.com. April 20, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Ewing, Lori (March 16, 2018). "Coach Ken Babey found new beginning with Canada's para ice hockey team". cbc.ca. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
Retrieved from ""