Claude Julien ‘turned out to be a good fit’ as Blues assistant
July 19, 2024
Claude Julien ‘turned out to be a good fit’ as Blues assistant
3 comments
From the article:
Claude Julien ‘turned out to be a good fit’ as Blues assistant
> Claude Julien said he never had any prior conversations with St. Louis Blues coach Drew Bannister. That is, until Julien received a phone call from Bannister inquiring about his interest in joining the Blues as an assistant coach. The more Julien, who coached 18 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, thought about it, the better he felt about the idea.
> “Drew reached out to me and asked if he could talk to me and see if I would be a good fit for their crew,” Julien said by phone Friday after being hired June 27. “So having known a lot of people there and feeling comfortable in that surrounding, there was something Drew and I discussed for quite a while and wanted to make sure it was a good fit. At the end of it all, I think it turned out to be a good fit.”
> Julien said he relishes the role of mentor; with a younger coaching staff that includes associate coach Steve Ott, 41, and assistants Mike Weber, 36, Dave Alexander, 47, and Michael Babcock, 29, Julien adds a resume with a plethora of experience and wisdom.
> “As I said to him, I said, ‘I’ve been fortunate enough as a head coach to be surrounded by good assistant coaches.’ This is a good opportunity for me right now at this stage of my career to do that for someone else. I’m looking forward to really honestly helping Drew and the coaching staff, which is a good, young and exciting coaching staff to be around and help them a little bit with my experience.”
I’m glad Drew is able to get people he wants. The staff needed some new blood.
As with any career in life it’s important to surround yourself with good, experienced mentors. This sounds exactly like the guy a green NHL coach like Drew needs.
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but some stability in coaching might help us push up past the mushy middle and maybe squeak into the playoffs this next season. We clearly had some potential if we were beating some of the best teams routinely vs squandering what should have been auto wins against the lowest standing teams.
3 comments
From the article:
Claude Julien ‘turned out to be a good fit’ as Blues assistant
> Claude Julien said he never had any prior conversations with St. Louis Blues coach Drew Bannister. That is, until Julien received a phone call from Bannister inquiring about his interest in joining the Blues as an assistant coach. The more Julien, who coached 18 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, thought about it, the better he felt about the idea.
> “Drew reached out to me and asked if he could talk to me and see if I would be a good fit for their crew,” Julien said by phone Friday after being hired June 27. “So having known a lot of people there and feeling comfortable in that surrounding, there was something Drew and I discussed for quite a while and wanted to make sure it was a good fit. At the end of it all, I think it turned out to be a good fit.”
> Julien said he relishes the role of mentor; with a younger coaching staff that includes associate coach Steve Ott, 41, and assistants Mike Weber, 36, Dave Alexander, 47, and Michael Babcock, 29, Julien adds a resume with a plethora of experience and wisdom.
> “As I said to him, I said, ‘I’ve been fortunate enough as a head coach to be surrounded by good assistant coaches.’ This is a good opportunity for me right now at this stage of my career to do that for someone else. I’m looking forward to really honestly helping Drew and the coaching staff, which is a good, young and exciting coaching staff to be around and help them a little bit with my experience.”
I’m glad Drew is able to get people he wants. The staff needed some new blood.
As with any career in life it’s important to surround yourself with good, experienced mentors. This sounds exactly like the guy a green NHL coach like Drew needs.
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but some stability in coaching might help us push up past the mushy middle and maybe squeak into the playoffs this next season. We clearly had some potential if we were beating some of the best teams routinely vs squandering what should have been auto wins against the lowest standing teams.