The Most Famous
COACHES from Canada
Top 2
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Canadian Coaches of all time. This list of famous Canadian Coaches is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Mike Babcock (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 45.11, Mike Babcock is the most famous Canadian Coach. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages on wikipedia.
Mike Babcock (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and coach. He spent parts of eighteen seasons as a head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL), beginning when he was named head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, whom he led to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. In 2005, Babcock signed with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2008, and helping them to the Stanley Cup playoffs every year during his tenure and setting a record for most wins in Red Wings history. In 2015, he left Detroit to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs, a position he held until he was fired in 2019. During his coaching tenure from 1991 to 2019, Babcock's teams missed the post-season only four times. Babcock also gained extensive experience coaching internationally. As of November 2025, he is the only coach to gain entry to the Triple Gold Club, winning the Stanley Cup, IIHF World Championships, and coaching an Olympic gold medal-winning team. He guided the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008; he coached Team Canada to gold at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004; and he coached Canada to gold at both the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Babcock is the only coach to win six distinct national or international titles. He also guided Canada to gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1997, and he coached the University of Lethbridge to the CIS University Cup in 1994. Since the end of his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Babcock has been the subject of public criticism from many former players about his professional conduct, including allegations of verbal abuse and mistreatment.
2. Adam Oates (b. 1962)
With an HPI of 39.91, Adam Oates is the 2nd most famous Canadian Coach. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Adam Robert Oates (born August 27, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, former co-head coach for the New Jersey Devils and former head coach for the Washington Capitals. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Edmonton Oilers from 1985 to 2004. Known as an elite playmaker, Oates's career total of 1,079 assists was the fifth-highest total in NHL history at the time of his 2004 retirement. He has the second highest number of games played and points scored among undrafted NHL players (behind Wayne Gretzky) with 1,337 and 1,420, respectively. After retiring as a player, Oates served as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils before joining the Capitals as their head coach for two seasons, from 2012 to 2014. In 2017, Oates was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. As a college player, Oates was a standout forward for the RPI Engineers. He set single-season school records for assists and points. He was named an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) all-star and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in both 1984 and 1985. Oates was named a tournament all-star in helping RPI win the 1985 national championship, and in 1990–91, the NHL included him in its second All-Star team; he played in five All-Star Games. He holds the record for most points all-time of any NHL player who also played NCAA Hockey. Oates was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 12, 2012.
People
Pantheon has 2 people classified as Canadian coaches born between 1962 and 1963. Of these 2, 2 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Canadian coaches include Mike Babcock, and Adam Oates. As of April 2024, 2 new Canadian coaches have been added to Pantheon including Mike Babcock, and Adam Oates.
