Clare Drake

Who is Clare Drake?

Clare James Drake is a retired Canadian ice hockey head coach. He is the winningest coach in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey history. In his 28 years as the head coach of the University of Alberta men's ice hockey team, he coached the Alberta Golden Bears to 6 University Cup championships and 17 Canada West conference championships. Drake was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

He played hockey for the UBC Thunderbirds and graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1951.

Drake served as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers during the 1975–76 WHA season.

The “dean of coaching,” Clare developed the game for more than 40 years, coaching at the high school, university, Olympic and NHL level. The only university coach to win a national championship in both hockey and football in the same year, he was instrumental in the development of the National Coaching Certification and Coach Mentorship Programs.