What makes Bruins coach Julien tick?
Lucic, Bergeron, Chara, Rask ... by now even the most casual Blackhawks fans are quite familiar with most of the big-name, big-game players on the Boston Bruins.
But what about the steady hand that has guided this team to within 2 victories of the Bruins’ second Stanley Cup in three seasons?
What about coach Claude Julien?
At this time of year — make that any time of year — most coaches are reluctant to talk about themselves, much preferring to talk about their players and their team instead.
On the eve of Game 5, however, the Bruins coach talked a bit about what makes him tick and how the landscape of the NHL has changed.
Here’s some of what Julien had to say:
Personal approach towards coaching:#147;I think a lot of that is being yourself. There#146;s no doubt you have coaches that you#146;ve looked up to and everything else, but to say you want to mold yourself in regards to what they are I think is getting away from your personality.#147;I#146;ve always said I#146;ve got to be comfortable; in order to be comfortable I#146;ve got to be myself. As a player I felt things. As a coach I kind of remember those things.#148;The fine line:#147;You are the coach. You are the guy that gives the directions. So it#146;s a fine line between respect and authority.#147;I think you#146;ve got to respect your players because you want them to play for you. But at the same time you#146;re the authority figure that makes the decisions, whether good decisions, tough decisions #151; whatever they may be.#148;Honesty with players:#147;Yeah, I believe in that. In my era, you had one coach, and he didn#146;t have to say much. But you didn#146;t take that personally, you just went out and played. If your sweater was hanging before the game or when you got to the rink, it meant you played; if it wasn#146;t, you didn#146;t.#147;He didn#146;t have to have a conversation with you in the office and tell you why you weren#146;t or were or anything else, and you just accepted it that way.#148;A new era:#147;It#146;s changed. Nowadays players want to know #145;what can I do to get back in the lineup?#146; and you evolve with time. #147;Anybody who doesn#146;t want to evolve with this game is not going to last.#148;