BEIJING — Jeremy Colliton brought his players together toward the tail end of practice.
"Let's have that urgency," Canada's Olympic men's hockey coach calmly told the group. "Let's have that desperation."
It was instruction — and a job title on the other side of the world — he never would have envisioned three short months ago.
"You don't roadmap these things," the 37-year-old told a group of North American reporters about 30 minutes later. "You just do the best you can and prepare for your opportunities."
Colliton certainly has a big one under the bright lights of the Beijing Games.
With head coach Claude Julien unable to travel after breaking his ribs at training camp during what Hockey Canada described as a "team-building activity," the Chicago Blackhawks' former bench boss has been presented an unlikely opportunity — attempt to lead his country to gold in the top job.
"Claude, his track record speaks for itself," Colliton said. "I was really excited to work with him, under him, and just be around him."
After getting fired by the bumbling, scandal-tinged Blackhawks in early November following a 1-9-2 start, the product of Blackie, Alta., found himself in reflection mode.
"You've got to look at yourself and look at the situation that happened," Colliton said at Beijing's National Indoor Stadium. "And start preparing for wherever you're going to go next."
What came next initially was an assistant role with Canada when the NHL pulled the plug on its Olympic participation — Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning had been originally tabbed to coach the team — because of COVID-19 concerns.
Colliton jumped at the opportunity. What young coach, especially one looking to reassert himself, wouldn't want to learn from Julien?
Memorial Cup winner. World junior bench boss. Jack Adams Award recipient as NHL coach of the year. Stanley Cup champion. Colliton worked alongside the 66-year-old as Canada shaped its roster of players from junior and U.S. college hockey all the way to the Russian-based KHL.
The team gathered for camp in Switzerland last month. Spirits were high. The Games were just around the corner.
Julien's fall presented another twist, and like his players when the NHL withdrew, opened a new door on the world's biggest stage.
"Spent a lot of time together," Colliton said. "Working together on building the team and the plan."
Now it will be up to the understudy to execute.
"He's jumped in seamlessly," said Canadian captain Eric Staal, who's 2 1/2 months older than his new coach. "We're building towards the ultimate goal."
Josh Ho-Sang said Colliton is also building off Julien's foundation.
"Claude's still in our locker room, even though he's not," said the winger. "His messages still ring true. Jeremy is adding his own twist."
"I've been lucky," Colliton added. "This is a great experience for me, and it's a development opportunity."
It's also a far cry from the situation in Chicago he had to deal with in the days before his firing — one that had nothing to do with his tenure.
An independent report released in late October found the Blackhawks mishandled allegations an assistant coach sexually assaulted first-round draft pick Kyle Beach during the team's Stanley Cup run in 2010.
General manager Stan Bowman immediately resigned, while Colliton's predecessor behind the bench — Joel Quenneville — subsequently stepped down from his post with the Florida Panthers.
The report also played a role in the departure of another top Chicago hockey executive, while the NHL fined the team US$2 million its "inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response."
Colliton, who was still playing professionally in 2010, was left trying to get his team ready for games with the controversy swirling before eventually being axed Nov. 6 to finish with an overall record of 87-92-26 in the Windy City.
"It's a situation that shouldn't happen, right?" he said of the scandal and coverup. "I think everyone agrees on that. And ultimately, whatever fallout that spilled into (on-ice) performance, secondary to what the issues are.
"Our (hockey) culture and whether it's you talking about organizations or right down to kids playing when they're younger, we got work to do. Hopefully that's where the focus is. Ultimately, that's the No. 1 priority ... cleaning that up."
Colliton's current priority is getting this team primed for what should be a wide-open tournament. Canada is scheduled to take part in a combined training session Monday with the United States before Thursday's Group A opener against Germany.
The Canadians will also take on the U.S. and China in round-robin action.
Colliton said Julien remains part of the brain trust, albeit from afar.
"It's nice to just have someone to bounce (ideas) off," he said. "Certainly offering his perspective."
Colliton played parts of five seasons with the New York Islanders, and also suited up at two world junior hockey championships, winning silver in 2004 and gold as a part of the supporting cast on Canada's star-studded 2005 roster led by Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter and Sidney Crosby.
"It's not about any one person — it's about Canada," he said of past national team experience. "The players have that perspective. The coaches have that perspective.
"What an honour."
And while the hockey world will be watching — and assessing — his Olympic performance after the country won bronze four years ago in another NHL-less tournament, Colliton insists he isn't looking any further than the gold-medal game Feb. 20.
"It's something you dream about as a kid, having that opportunity to put the sweater on ... same thing as a coach," he said. "It's not about proving yourself or looking ahead. It's about right here, right now, this group we have, and trying to win something together.
"That's it."
An opportunity Colliton, much like his roster, certainly didn't see coming in the fall.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2022.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
