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September 14, 2005
New mayor of HockeytownBabcock brings his 'high intensity' to the Red WingsByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - It didn't take Red Wings players long to find out what new coach Mike Babcock is all about. There was no transition period. There was no easing into it. "It's pretty much what we expected - high intensity, upbeat, a lot of yelling, a lot of screaming. It was good," said defenseman Chris Chelios. "Personally, I'm on the two-week program, so I don't judge anything before two weeks, but after today I liked it a lot. I liked the intensity. It's a good way to open up camp." Babcock, known as a no-nonsense coach who expects 100-percent effort 100 percent of the time, put the players through a full workout on their first day of practice. "It wasn't an easy day by any means. But it was good for me," Babcock said. "I got a chance to be on the ice with really good players and see how competitive some of our guys are, which is nice. Obviously, things are really going to pick up as they get their legs under them. When you think about it, a lot of guys have been off for a long, long time, so it's going to take some time." Babcock explains drills once and only once during practice. "Mike's practices have an incredible tempo," winger Brendan Shanahan said. "He's going to put a lot of pressure on us to execute at a quick pace and understand things quickly." The Red Wings hired Babcock after letting former coach Dave Lewis go earlier this summer. Babcock refused a contract offer to stay with his former team, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and was hired by the Wings within weeks. Babcock led the Ducks to a 40-27-9 record in his first year as an NHL head coach three years ago, including a trip to the Stanley Cup finals and an opening-round sweep of the defending champion Red Wings. But the Ducks didn't fare quite as well in his second season and went 29-43-10, missing the playoffs after trying to replace star Paul Kariya with ex-Wing Sergei Fedorov. Lewis is back with the Wings as a scout. "I know that the only way to be successful is to be yourself and to keep getting better," Babcock said. "We're real fortunate here. We have a lot of resources. "I believe that when you're under pressure in your life, you go back to who you are. So if you have a solid base and a solid foundation, you have a chance to execute when it counts." With a new regime in place - including new assistants Paul MacLean and Todd McLellan - even veterans are starting over in a way. "There are a lot of young players in here that are excited because they have a new chance to go out and prove themselves to him," Shanahan said. "And I think that goes on the flipside for some of the veterans as well. I'm excited that there's a new staff and you can go in and kind of start new and king of re-sell yourself and re-package yourself as the player they want you to be." "It's an adjustment," Maltby said. "He's got a different mindset, a different way of doing things. But change can be good." After two years of early exits in the playoffs, the Wings sure hope so. See Related Stories: Zetterberg's injury 'not a problem' - September 14, 2005 Osgood glad to be back with Wings - September 14, 2005 Datsyuk contract saga not done yet - September 13, 2005 Wings back in TC after 1-year absence - September 13, 2005
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Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
