Bruins hire ex-Devils coach Julien, who promises physical style

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, who played on the Canadian national team when Julien was an assistant coach in the 2006 World Championships, remembers him as a "players' coach."

"He was making you comfortable but at the same time he was making you work hard," Bergeron said. "I think his coaching mentality is to be hard to play against, and I think he's going to bring that to us. Everywhere he went, he's had some success and that tells a lot."

The Bruins will draft some new youngsters Friday night and Saturday in Columbus. They have the eighth pick and Chiarelli said they're unlikely to trade for a higher one although he would consider dealing it for a lower pick if he can get a player who can help the team right away.

Julien, 47, was fired with three games left in his first regular season as coach of the Devils despite having them in first place in the Atlantic Division. General manager Lou Lamoriello, who took over, said he didn't think Julien had the team ready to challenge for the Stanley Cup. The Devils lost in the second round.

"You always like to finish what you started," Julien said. "The most important thing is that you don't look back and you move forward."

He also coached Montreal from January 2003 until being fired in January 2006. In the 2003-04 playoffs, the Canadiens beat the Bruins in seven games after falling behind 3-1.

"The next day was when I had the biggest job to do. That was to convince the players that we were capable of coming back," Julien said.

He and Chiarelli, 42, first met about 20 years ago during summer workouts in Ottawa when Chiarelli played for Harvard and Julien was a defenseman with the Quebec Nordiques of the NHL.

"This is not about friendship, but it's more about being on the same page and wanting to accomplish the same things," Julien said.

Chiarelli didn't even have time to socialize with his new coach at a party Thursday night to unveil the Bruins' new uniform. He was headed for Columbus to try to draft some players who could help the Bruins. In his 13 months as general manager, Chiarelli has fired two coaches, hired two others and added many players.

Deciding on assistant coaches will have to wait until after the draft.

"I want to get through this weekend first," Chiarelli said with a smile. "I'm trying to jam as much stuff as possible into one year."