PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Scandal coach Mike Babcock is back in the NHL, and is also back in bad weather.
His former player Jonathan Hedström is not surprised.
– He is a bully so this does not come as news, says Hedström to Hockeynews.
2019 got Mike Babcock fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs after it was discovered he mistreated players. The harassment allegedly took place in both Toronto and, meanwhile, in his former club Detroit. Swedish Johan Franzén was bullied so badly during a match that he suffered a nervous breakdown, his teammates have revealed.
Babcock in windy weather
After the accusations and dismissal, it was a few years away from hockey at the highest level for him. But now Babcock is once again welcomed into the heat after being hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets this summer.
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However, before the competition season has even started, the 60-year-old is in bad weather, again. In his podcast “Spittin’ chiclets” says the former NHL player Paul Bissonnette that the coach has demanded to see private pictures in several players’ phones.
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Hedström’s words
Babcock has defended himself by saying he wanted to see photos of their families and that he only did so to get to know the players better. But it doesn’t buy Jonathan Hedstromthe former hockey player who coached Babcock with the Anaheim Ducks.
– He is a bully so this does not come as news. It’s pathetic how he behaves. This wouldn’t come out if Babcock only asked questions about the players’ families and if they are doing well, that he goes through their picture gallery on the phone is completely sick, says Hedström to Hockeynews.
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Shocked by the NHL
The former Timrå player was surprised that Babcock was even allowed to return and coach a club in the NHL.
– I think everyone was probably shocked that they brought him back to the NHL after what came out when he was in Toronto, with the bullying of players and so on. He’s great at hockey and gets a lot out of the teams he coaches, but as a person he’s messed up in the head, that’s just the way it is, he says and continues:
– I don’t think they will succeed in sweeping this under the carpet, not in today’s situation. The players union is supposed to do an investigation and it feels like they won’t cheat on it.
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