“Even before Game 7 of the Final, the meetings were like any other meetings. There was nothing special. Nothing you would see where it was, ‘Hey, this is a little different than before.’ It was the same thing.’’
Tomorrow at Scotiabank Place, Julien will be recognized yet again for how he steered last year’s team. Julien, along with assistant coaches Geoff Ward, Doug Houda, and Doug Jarvis, will be behind the bench of Team Chara, the reward of leading the Cup-winning club.
“It’s always an honor when you get an opportunity to coach in the All-Star Game,’’ said Julien. “The fact that it’s at home certainly is something even more special. I’m getting an opportunity here to visit with family. They can come to the game. You don’t always get that opportunity. I grew up here in Ottawa. I played my minor hockey here.’’
Julien was raised in Orleans, just east of downtown Ottawa. Although his full-time residence is in a Boston suburb, he keeps a home in the area. Last summer, Julien brought the Stanley Cup to Ottawa, and participated in the groundbreaking of the Canadian International Hockey Academy in nearby Rockland. Julien could recall when the site of Scotiabank Place, the Senators’ home rink, was nothing but an empty field.
“It’s changed a lot,’’ said the 51-year-old Julien. “I’m not a young chicken anymore. There weren’t as many rinks. There were times we had to get up as kids at 5:30 in the morning to get to the rink at 6, 6:30 for early games. Freezing cold. We know the winters were a little different, too. Certainly you see a difference today in what you saw in those days. Minor hockey is minor hockey. I might have grown up in a different era where certain rules are different. But I think you still see the same thing - the passion in the kids’ eyes. It was the same that we had.’’
