Weber, Babcock join Blues coaching staff

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the team has named Mike Weber as assistant coach and Michael Babcock as skills coach.

Weber and Babcock round out the Blues coaching staff after a search led by Blues Head Coach Craig Berube.

Weber, 35, joins the Blues coaching staff following a three-year stint as an assistant coach with the AHL's Rochester Americans. In 2022-23, he helped guide the Americans to a third-place finish in the North Division and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Overall, the Americans qualified for the postseason in each of Weber's last two seasons while compiling a 73-56-13 regular-season record. Prior to joining Rochester, he spent three years as an assistant coach with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, where he led the team to a third-place finish in the West Division during his final season.

"Mike Weber was somebody that I knew of," Berube said. "He's been working in the Buffalo organization for quite some time down in Rochester and really has done a great job of developing some players for the Buffalo Sabres, so he was a person we had some real interest in... I really liked what I heard and what he stands for and how he's going to handle things with our D corps."

As a player, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft. He went on to appear in 351 career NHL regular-season games across nine seasons, collecting 53 points (nine goals, 44 assists) and 437 penalty minutes. He also tallied 51 points (eight goals, 43 assists) in 237 career AHL regular-season games.

Babcock, 28, joins the Blues coaching staff after finishing the 2022-23 season with the Ottawa Senators. With the Senators, Babcock aided the coaching staff in developing game plans, pre-scouting, and with on-ice skill development.

Before joining the Senators, he spent two seasons with the University of Saskatchewan, where he ran the team's defense and power play. In 2021-22, he helped the Huskies finish with the second-ranked power play in the nation at 28.1 percent.

Prior to his coaching career, Babcock played four years of NCAA Division 1 hockey with Merrimack College, where he served as team captain during his senior season. He went on to play professionally with the Gothiques d'Amiens in the French Ligue Magnus, helping the team win the Coupe de France championship in 2019.

"Babcock is a young guy, obviously his name, his dad [former NHL Head Coach Mike Babcock] speaks for itself on the hockey side of things," Berube said. "A real young, smart kid. I know he hasn't had a ton of experience, but talking to him and other people, there's a lot of good recommendations about him. He's going to bring in some real good skill work... we've got a lot of good young players coming and we need somebody to work with these guys on a day-to-day basis... I love the age where he's at to work with these players."