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Report: Mike Babcock returns as Team Canada coach in Sochi

Mike Babcock

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock, top, yells to his team during the first period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Western Conference semifinals against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Saturday, May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

AP

Team Canada figures to have a loaded roster in the 2014 Winter Olympics (provided NHL players return, of course) and the coaching staff will be similarly filled with top talent.

ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock will be Canada’s head coach and have quite the staff of assistants to join him. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, Bruins coach Claude Julien, and former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will join him for the Games in Sochi.

Hitchcock and Ruff were assistants under Babcock at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and it’s clear Canada wants to recapture that same gold-medal-winning formula once again. Provided the pros are headed back to the Olympics, Team Canada figures to be the favorites to win gold again. Having a tactician like Babcock behind the bench only helps improve those odds.