BEIJING 鈥� Claude Julien is with his team at the Beijing Olympics.
And that's not all Canada's men's hockey coach is thankful for.
The 61-year-old made a surprise return to the fold Thursday after not initially travelling with the group to China. Hockey Canada said late last month Julien suffered broken ribs when he slipped on some ice in what was described as a "team-building exercise" during training camp in Switzerland.
While that description was accurate, it didn't come close to telling the whole story.
Julien detailed exactly what happened, including the full extent of his injuries and severity of the situation, to reporters Friday at the National Indoor Centre.
"We went sledding," he said. "It was icy, slid off the trail there with the sled, ended up hitting a tree, and fracturing the ribs.
"Very fortunate that it wasn't any worse."
Julien went to hospital to have X-rays and was discharged with an initial diagnosis of bruised ribs.
"When I got back to the hotel, started seeing some symptoms that indicated a little bit more," he continued. "We went back to the hospital and through a CT scan they found a broken rib and I had a punctured lung.
"They ended up bringing me to another hospital where they were able to do the surgery."
Julien, who won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2009, led the Boston Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup, and was an assistant on Canada's star-studded 2014 Olympic squad that won gold in Sochi, described the heartache of being told the team would have to leave him behind.
"You've put in so much work to get ready," said Julien, who was fired by the Montreal Canadiens for a second time in February 2021. "You feel you're ready to go.
"And then this happened."
Assistant coach Jeremy Colliton 鈥� the Chicago Blackhawks' former bench boss 鈥� stepped in to fill the void.
But Julien, who credited his understudy with carrying out the blueprint they'd laid out, continued to watch video of Canada's practices and its controlled scrimmage against the United States in hopes of a return.
"The coaching staff did such a great job of jumping in and taking charge," he said. "The players were great at adapting.
"It went way smoother than what could have been, just because of the personality of the group that we have."
The scary incident in the Swiss resort town of Davos where Canada was preparing for the 2022 Games marked the second time in less than 18 months Julien has undergone emergency surgery.
He was rushed to hospital in August 2020 after experiencing chest pains while Montreal was playing in the NHL's post-season Toronto bubble, and subsequently had a stent installed in one of his coronary arteries.
The Ottawa product, who's coached a combined 1,399 regular-season and playoff games in the NHL, returned to the Canadiens with a clean bill of health to start the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, but was fired with the club in a tailspin.
He agreed to coach Canada in two December tournaments ahead of Beijing, and was on standby to lead the program at the Olympics if the NHL backed out because of COVID-19 concerns 鈥� which is exactly what happened a few weeks later.
Julien credited doctors in Switzerland and Hockey Canada with getting him to China.
"The care that I got over there, even after the team left, was outstanding," he said. "They were actually really pushing hard to get me to come here. They were in contact with our medical staff and saying, 'We'll do whatever it takes to get your coach back.'
"What great teamwork."
Turning his attention to Beijing, Julien arrived Thursday in time to watch Canada's 5-1 victory over Germany to open its Group A schedule on NHL ice.
"We've got good size, we've got good skaters," Julien said. "It's a smaller rink. We're able to play our game comfortably. We based our game on playing the Canadian way.
"I saw some real good signs. Hopefully we're open-minded to getting better as the tournament goes on."
Canada will meet the U.S. (1-0) just after 12 p.m. local time Saturday 鈥� late Friday back home 鈥� before facing China (0-1) on Sunday.
Canadian captain Eric Staal, who's looking for a second Olympic gold medal and another NHL shot after the Olympics, has gone to battle against Julien-coached teams many times in his career.
"Very detailed, very structured," said the 37-year-old. "He's got a great mind for the game, a ton of experience, and success to go along with it.
"Always had his guys prepared, always difficult matchups."
Julien didn't think he'd get a chance to show that on the sporting world's biggest stage less than two weeks ago.
He plans to make the most of this second chance.
"Disappointed, especially, when I was first told it didn't look good for me to come here," he said.
"As much as it was a tough pill to swallow, I'm here now."
And his team couldn't be happier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
