Claude Julien suffers injury, won't coach Canada at 2022 Olympics

Hockey Canada announced on Sunday morning that Claude Julien will no longer be behind the bench at the 2022 Winter Olympics due to an injury he suffered during the team's training camp in Davos, Switzerland.

In their statement, Hockey Canada said that during a team building activity, Claude slipped on the ice and suffered fractured ribs. The team's medical staff evaluated him and came to the decision that he would not be able to fly with them to Beijing.

With Claude Julien out, assistant coach Jeremy Colliton will now assume the reigns as head coach.

"Claude was beyond excited and honoured to be a member of Team Canada at the Olympics, and we are all disappointed that he will no longer be able to lead our team in Beijing," said general manager Shane Doan. "Claude is in great spirits and we will continue to do everything we can to support him. We ask that Claude's privacy please be respected at this time."

He added, «"We are fortunate to have an experienced coaching staff, and Jeremy is a talented, young coach with a long career ahead of him. We know he will do an exceptional job leading our team behind the bench in Beijing. While we are excited for Jeremy to take on this challenge, we know Claude will be supporting us every step of the way and we wish him a speedy recovery."

Colliton, 37, was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks back in November of 2021 following parts of four seasons as their head coach. During his time in Chicago, the Blackhawks made the playoffs once, in 2020 when they lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

As a player, Colliton represented Canada a few times and was on the 2005 World Junior team that won the gold medal.

"While it is difficult to fill in for a coach that has a pedigree like Claude Julien, I am honoured to be considered as the person to lead Canada's Men's Olympic Team as head coach," Colliton said. "We have a very close-knit, experienced coaching staff that has gained a lot of knowledge from Claude in our short time together, and I know our staff will continue to support each other as we look to achieve our goal of winning an Olympic gold medal."

Team Canada is set to play an exhibition game against Switzerland on Tuesday in Davos before departing for Beijing. They'll open their 2022 Olympic tournament on Thursday, February 10th at 8:10am ET against Germany.

Jeremy Colliton has assumed head coaching duties for 🇨🇦's Men's Olympic Team, as Claude Julien will no longer be able to travel due to an injury. @TeamCanada | #Beijing2022

[📸 Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo]— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) January 30, 2022

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