Posted by Gayle Simone, Sun Staff

Days after TSN-Canada and other media outlets were announcing Claude Julien would be named as the 28th head coach of the Boston Bruins, the club held a press conference at TD Banknorth Garden to make it official.

"First of all I’d like to thank the Jacobs family, Peter and the organization for giving me the opportunity to be part of a team that has obviously a great history and rich tradition," Julien said. "I am looking forward to the challenge of bringing this team to the level of expectation that the organization, the players and most importantly the fans want."

Julien, 47, was quick to respond when he was asked what his impression of his new team was.

"This team has a lot of potential and has a lot of great players. We all know what this team has and some great leadership as well," Julien said."And basically I want to come in here, as I’ve done with many of my teams in the past, and be a team that’s well structured and be a team that’s going to work together as a group pulling in the same direction."

Julien added he wants his team to be a harder team to play against.

"Obviously, defensively we want to certainly cut down on the goals against and limit the scoring chances," Julien explained. "Also harder to play against can be the physical part of it and offensively we want to be able to go at them by finishing our checks and driving hard to the net and doing the things that it takes to score goals. You want to be gritty in all areas and I think that’s what we want to establish here and we established that now with just a few players but with the whole group."

When asked if the Bruins would play the "trap defense" the New Jersey Devils made famous, Julien explained what "trap defense" really means.

"When you look back at the game tapes, everyone plays what every calls the 'trap', obviously some are more aggressive but I think the bottom line is we want to be a team, as I mentioned earlier, that’s going to be hard to play against and you want to be aggressive you want to recover the puck as quick as you can its always important that your first forechecker goes in there hard and finishes his checks and I think people want to see physical part of the game which we want to implement but at the same time we have to realize the rules in this game have changed. You have to have some adjustments made because of the rule changes," Julien said. "Nonetheless I think we want to be aggressive we want to be a physical type of team as physical as we can be within the rules but nonetheless the bottom line is we’re going to have a structure that’s going to have everybody playing the same way and if we do that I think we’re going to be a harder team to play against."

Julien touched on the fact that he has coached Patrice Bergeron and being from Ottawa has seen Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara play on numerous occassions and that was another reason he chose to coach here, besides the rich history.

Julien said the club is not looking to reinvent the game.

"We’re going to establish a system here that is comfortable for everyone, its going to be simple, I don’t think we’re looking to complicate the game, we’re not looking to reinvent it," Julien said. " All it is, is good execution and I think if you can get that stability and making sure the players understand and they don’t have to think too much, it becomes automatic and that’s when your team becomes successful."

What exactly does Julien think of his captain Zdeno Chara?

"Well I think first of all the Boston Bruins should be so excited to have a player of his nature on (their) hockey team," Julien said. "He’s such a great competitor; he's such a great player and obviously when maybe things don’t go as well as you’d like them to go as a team a lot of times the pressure is put on the leaders and I think if you look at his game last year you can never criticize his work ethic and I think part of it is if everyone around him plays better we know that he’s also going to be an even bigger impact and a bigger asset.

"I have no worries that Z will be a big part of this hockey club and be a great leader and no doubt, I’m telling you right now, he will have a great season."

Julien has posted an NHL coaching record of 119-95-24 during three seasons with Montreal and one with the Devils. His playoff record is four wins and seven losses - the four wins came against the Bruins when the Candiens came back from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Bs in the opening round of the 2004 playoffs.

General Manger Peter Chiarelli said Julien has always "had the ability integrate youth into the line-up."

"He has the ability to elevate their level of play and that was one of the factors in deciding on him," Chiarelli said. "In short, Claude is a very task driven and determined individual who displays a passion for discipline and I’d like to welcome him to the organization."

Chiarelli aslo noted that Julien's record in his first year in Montreal (2003-2004) was the best record the Canadiens had had in 10-years. Chiarelli did not comment on the lenght of the Julien's contract. He did say both himself and Julien would work together in naming an assistant coach.

Julien is the seventh coach for the Bruins since 2000 (Mike Keenan, Robbie Ftorek, Mike O'Connell, Mike Sullivan and Dave Lewis) - will he have what it takes to lead the Bruins to the level of play that brings success? With a new coach in place, what else do the Bruins need to do? New York Post hockey writer Larry Brooks gave his take on WEEI this morning.

"I don't think they're a playoff team," Brooks said on the Dale and Holley Show. "They still have holes from the back all the way up."

Do you think this is a good move by Chiarelli and the Bruins? What does Julien truly bring to the rink? Will he have more success with this team than Lewis?