Julien Promoted to Canadiens
January 17, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release
The Montreal Canadiens, a parent club of the Hamilton Bulldogs, have appointed Claude Julien as the new Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Julien was promoted from his head coaching position with the Hamilton Bulldogs to the Canadiens. Geoff Ward, Julien's former assistant coach, has been named the Hamilton Bulldogs interim head coach.
Julien, 42, was in his third season as Head Coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Under Julien this season, the Bulldogs led the American Hockey League with 33 wins, 6 losses, 3 ties and 3 overtime losses for a total of 72 points and a .800 winning percentage. Julien had been selected as Head Coach of the Planet/USA at the AHL Annual All-Star game. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs have set or tied no less than 20 team records.
Before joining the Bulldogs, Julien coached the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. From 1996 to 2000, winning 141 games, losing 109 and earning 16 ties. He also led the Olympiques to a Memorial Cup championship in 1997.
A native of Orleans, Ontario, Julien has been very successful at the international level, winning a Bronze medal as a Head Coach of the Canadian Team at the World Junior Championships in 2000, and a Silver medal as an assistant coach in the same tournament a year earlier. Julien also coached the Under-18 Team to the Gold medal at the 3-Nations Tournament held in 1997 in the Czech Republic.
* * * * *
Ward, a 40-year-old native of Manitouwadge, Ontario takes over as interim head coach for Julien. Ward has been an assistant coach with the Bulldogs since joining the team mid-way through the 2000-01 season (January 24, 2001), after beginning the season as the head coach of Bad Nauheim Hockey Club of the German Bundesliga.
Ward brings a wealth of experience from the junior level. He was originally named an assistant coach of the 2000 Canadian National Junior Team, but accepted a head coaching position with Arkansas of the East Coast Hockey League. He was the assistant coach for Canada's Gold medal winning Men's Under 18-Team in 1997.
Previously, Ward was the head coach of the Kitchener Rangers, Guelph Storm and the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League. Ward led Kitchener and Guelph to Central Division titles in the 1996-97 and 1998-99 seasons, respectively.
Tonight the Hamilton Bulldogs will look to make it 26 consecutive games with a point as they host the Saint John Flames at Copps Coliseum. Game time is 7:30 p.m. For tickets call the Bulldogs at (905) 529-8500, visit the Copps Coliseum Box Office, or call TicketMaster at (905) 527-7666.
American Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2003
- Checkers Drop Second Straight - Charlotte Checkers
- Bulldogs Have Point Streak Snapped - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Monarchs Nip IceCats, 3-2 - Manchester Monarchs
- Griffins' Outburst Downs Ducks, 3-0 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Griffins' MacDonald denies Ducks for first career AHL shutout - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Phantoms defeat Cleveland 4-3 - Adirondack Phantoms
- Rita Recalled by Oilers - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Andrews and Petrovek to Hold All-Star Briefing - Portland Pirates
- Julien Promoted to Canadiens - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Tonight - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Flames Assign Sutter to Johnstown - Saint John Flames
- Moose to Take Part in Carnival - Manitoba Moose
- Crunch Zamboni up for Auction on eBay - Syracuse Crunch
- Falcons Fodder - Springfield Falcons
- Tellqvist recalled to Toronto - Toronto Marlies
- Rochester Americans vs. Hershey Bears - Rochester Americans
- St. John's Maple Leafs @ Providence Bruins - Toronto Marlies
- Yablonski Called Up by AHL Cincinnati - Peoria Rivermen
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Crunch Announce Details of C&S Companies Score For A Cure Program - Syracuse Crunch
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
