Thumbs-up from Marchand

Former coach shaped his career

MONTREAL — On the eve of the Bruins’ first game against ex-coach Claude Julien’s Canadiens, there were the fondest of memories all across the visiting team room yesterday at Bell Centre for the man who coached the B’s for 10 seasons before his reign came to an end last Feb. 7.

The streaking Bruins face the struggling Canadiens tonight, the first of three encounters between the old rivals in eight days.

No one spoke more emotionally or eloquently than Brad Marchand, who as a rookie was seen by many as little more than a fourth-line “energy guy.” Julien saw much more, and helped turn the youngster into a first-team All-Star.

“He gave me an opportunity to play,” said Marchand, who cracked the B’s lineup in the 201011 season, Julien’s fourth en route to becoming the franchise’s all-time winningest coach.

In Marchand’s first couple of years, critics saw an undersized kid, a thirdround pick, probably destined to be nothing more than an agitator/penalty killer-type role player. Julien saw more. “Yeah, he did,” said Marchand after the B’s returned from their four-day bye-week break for a quick practice. “He always wanted me to be a much better player.”

Marchand proved Julien correct in his first full NHL season, scoring 21 goals with 20 assists in 77 games.

“I think he saw that,” said Marchand. “That’s why he was hard on me at times, because he knew I could be better than being satisfied with being a fourthline player. He gave me the opportunity to play second line with Bergy (Patrice Bergeron), penalty kill and power play, eventually.”

Julien deserves accolades for pairing Bergeron and Marchand, a tandem with some of the finest chemistry in the game.

“It was a process and he really stuck with it, because there were a few