LeafOfFaith
Well-known member
While a number of former NHL players have been critical of Babcock's coaching methods, one former player offers a different perspective on this reported practice. Patrick Marleau has come forward to share that he, too, was asked by Babcock to share photos from his phone. Surprisingly, Marleau viewed this as a positive team-building exercise. He explained that he willingly shared some of his photos with a member of the organization and then elaborated on the stories behind those photos in a presentation to the team.
"It's just a way for everybody to get to know each other and their families and where they come from and their backgrounds," Marleau told Bay Area News Group this week. "I think it just brings the team closer together."
"So I think, what I'm assuming, not knowing more than what everybody else does, that that's exactly what (Babcock) was doing there again," Marleau said. "It was a great way to get to know your teammates."
It's worth noting that Marleau not only played under Babcock with the Toronto Maple Leafs but also represented Team Canada alongside him during the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympic Games. His perspective sheds a different light on Babcock's approach, suggesting that, for some, it may have been a team-building exercise rather than a negative intrusion into players' privacy.
"I had to have somebody going to bat for me to make those Olympic teams, and I'm pretty sure he was one of the guys that was doing that for me, and our relationship in Toronto was good as well," Marleau said of Babcock. "I had a role there with the younger guys and was still able to perform on the ice, so it was good."
Marleau finally weighs in.