Jeremy Colliton to coach Canada's men's Olympic hockey team for injured Claude Julien
Ex-Canadiens bench boss told not to fly to Beijing after breaking ribs at training camp
Canada has changed head coaches before arriving in Beijing for the men's Olympic hockey tournament.
On Sunday, Hockey Canada announced doctors have advised Claude Julien not to fly to China after he fell on ice and broke ribs during a team-building activity at a pre-Olympic training camp in Switzerland.
Assistant Jeremy Colliton, who was fired from his NHL head-coaching job with Chicago in November, will run the bench with assistants Nolan Baumgartner and Tyler Dietrich.
"[Julien] was obviously devastated to hear about that, to find that out, because he wanted to be there so bad," Canadian Olympic team general manager Shane Doan told reporters on a video call Sunday.
Despite the injury, Colliton expects Julien will still weigh in during the tournament.
"He has so much experience and a track record of winning and he's invested so much in this process already, getting the team ready," he said. "We've built a plan as far as getting the team ready and how the team's going to play. And we're just trying to move that forward."
WATCH | Breaking down Canada's roster:
Earlier this week, Canada unveiled a 25-player roster of non-NHLers, led by 37-year-old centre Eric Staal and NHL prospect Owen Power, a University of Michigan defenceman who starred at the recent world juniors that was cancelled in December because of a continued forfeiture of games as a result of COVID-19.
"We have a very close-knit, experienced coaching staff that has gained a lot of knowledge from Claude in our short time together, and I know our staff will continue to support each other as we look to achieve our goal of winning an Olympic gold medal," Colliton said in a news release.
Later, he added Julien sent the players a message saying the coaching swap is simply adversity and they now have a chance to show how they respond.
"This isn't going to be the last bump in the road, likely, that we run into," said Colliton.
International success
Prior to joining Chicago, the 37-year-old Colliton coached the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Ill. Previously, the native of Blackie, Alta., was an assistant coach with the Calgary Mustangs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for one season.
Internationally, Colliton played for Canada and won gold medals at the 2003 world U18 championship and 2005 world junior championship while capturing silver the previous year at the world juniors.
He also played six professional seasons (2005-12) with the New York Islanders and AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
"Any time you get a chance to represent Canada, it's as good as it gets, I think, as a hockey player and being Canadian," Colliton said.
"I got a chance to do it as a player and it's some of the best memories I have. So now to be part of a new group of players and competing at the Olympics, it's an amazing opportunity and certainly a great responsibility."
WATCH | History of men's Olympic hockey, explained:
Following the training camp and an exhibition game in Switzerland, the Canadians will travel to Beijing before playing one more tune-up against the United States.
Canada opens tournament play Feb. 10 against Germany before facing the U.S. (Feb. 12) and hosts China (Feb. 13) to close out round-robin action in Group A.
Canada won gold with NHLers in 2002, 2010 and 2014, but hasn't topped the podium in an Olympic tournament that wasn't best-on-best since 1952.
"We absolutely feel we can challenge for a gold medal, no doubt," Colliton said.
The NHL went to five straight Games between 1998 and 2014, but declined to participate four years ago in a tournament that was won by the Russians.
With files from The Canadian Press
