Canada's Claude Julien recovers from injury, 'will reassume' job

Canada head coach Claude Julien TASS

Team Canada men's ice hockey coach Claude Julien recovers from injury, 'will reassume' job after game vs. Germany

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 2/10/22

Team Canada's men's ice hockey team is taking part in their first game of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday, but they're doing it without head coach Claude Julien. The former NHL head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins was injured in a fall in late January after slipping on the ice during a team-building activity in Switzerland and breaking his ribs.

While the interim leader -- former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton -- is at the helm for team Canada's Thursday game against Germany, Julien is on the mend.

Great news from @HockeyCanada: Claude Julien has recovered from his injury and “will reassume head coaching duties” after today’s game vs. Germany. @NHLNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 10, 2022

Team Canada's second contest of the preliminary round will take place on Saturday against Team USA. Group A consists of Team Canada, Team USA, Team Germany and Team China.

The 61-year-old Julien was the head coach of Montreal from the 2002-2003 NHL campaign to the 2005-2006 season, and then at the helm of the Devils 2006-2007 season. His most notable days came with Boston, as he spent 10 years with the club from 2007 to 2017, leading them to a Stanley Cup title in 2011 and an Eastern Conference championship in 2013.

Julien re-joined the Canadiens for four-plus seasons from 2016 to 2021. He has a 667-445-10-152 career record in the regular season and a 68-56 mark in the playoffs.

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