from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

Clare Drake, whose voluminous wisdom was gladly and graciously imparted to a legion of young and old coaches who would hang on his every word, passed away Sunday morning.

The long-time University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach, who was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame last November in the builder’s category, died in his sleep. He was 89.

Coach Drake, who is survived by wife Dolly and two daughters Debbie and Jamie, was a towering figure to long-time National Hockey League coaches Ken Hitchcock, Mike Babcock and Barry Trotz, who all said they wouldn’t have made it to the best league in the world without the gentle soul who only put on his game face when the puck was dropped.

The same goes for former bench-bosses Tom Renney, Dave King and George Kingston along with a legion of contemporaries like Billy Moores, part of the all-encompassing Bears’ family....

“What Clare said had a profound impact on all of us … I would go back to Edmonton after NHL seasons (coaching) and I would talk to him for hours and hours,” said Hitchcock, the third-winningest NHL coach of all-time. “We’d be at symposiums, and we’d be talking so long, we’d miss some of the (other) presentations.”

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Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun with his article on Clare Drake.