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Vermont coach on hiring ex-Wings coach Mike Babcock: 'The equivalent of a Bill Belichick'

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock talks before playing his former team, the Detroit Red Wings, on Oct. 18, 2017.

Former Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will get back to work this fall after more than eight months off as the University of Vermont announced Wednesday he will join its hockey program as a volunteer advisor.

Vermont’s head coach, Todd Woodcroft, lauded Babcock’s high-level hockey knowledge in Wednesday's release announcing his coaching staff.

He was even more explicit in his praise on Thursday, calling Babcock "the equivalent of a Bill Belichick, the equivalent of a Phil Jackson" in an interview with the Burlington (Vermont) Free Press.