Music: {allcanada} Vigneault and Julien put friendship aside for Cup Final

VANCOUVER -- In the NHL, it often happens. You're a friend one day, a foe the next.

For example, a player like reliable defenceman Dan Hamhuis decided to ditch the Nashville Predators for the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent last summer. Ten months later he lined up against his old teammates in a heated second-round playoff series.

But Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault and his Boston Bruins counterpart Claude Julien never imagined that almost three decades after they spent two seasons as teammates on the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the old Central Hockey League, that one day they would be match wits as bench bosses in the Stanley Cup Final.

That, however, will be the situation when the Canucks and Bruins open the 2010-11 best-of-seven NHL championship at Rogers Arena on Wednesday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET).

"When you're a young player your focus or dream is to play in the NHL," said Owen Sound Attack coach Mark Reeds, also a member of that Golden Eagles team in the early 1980s.

"You don't set out be a coach. But once you decide to end or near the end of your playing career for whatever reason, some of us still have that passion or love for the game and want to remain in hockey as a coach.

"With Alain and Claude, I'm not surprised that they have reached the Stanley Cup Final as coaches. I'm not saying any of us knew back then they would have so much success as a coach. But they did have that passion for the game. It was evident because they had excellent work ethics as players and respect for their teammates.

"I'm excited for the both of them."

Hard-rock defenceman

The 50-year-old Vigneault and Julien, 51, were both hard-rock defencemen. Vigneault dropped the gloves more than Julien, but the latter, even though he was smaller and much lighter back then, was just as tough.

They arrived in Salt Lake City in 1981-82, fresh out of junior. Vigneault finished with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs of the QMJHL and was drafted in the eighth round by the St. Louis Blues. Julien finished his days as a junior with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, and was never drafted by an NHL club. He spent his first pro season with the Port Huron Flags of the IHL.

Vigneault wound up playing 42 games in the NHL with the Blues, while Julien saw action in only 14 with the Quebec Nordiques.

Vigneault decided to halt his playing days after only three pro seasons for an education and a much earlier start to his coaching career, while Julien wound up playing eight more years and didn't finish until age 32 with the 1991-92 Moncton Hawks.

"I lived with Claude," Reeds said. "He was so meticulous and so organized. Those are traits you need as a coach."

Reeds won the OHL championship with the Attack this season. Other members of that Golden Eagles team were current Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach Joe Mullen and Bill Stewart.

After his playing days ended, Stewart won OHL titles behind the bench with the Oshawa Generals and Barrie Colts as well as a championship in Germany. He also would up briefly as the New York Islanders head coach.

"They were delightful guys," said Stewart, now a consult with the Guelph Storm of the OHL who plans to join head coach Scott Walker behind the bench next season. "What I remember about them is they came to the rink and worked hard every day.

"They played a similar style of game. They were defensive defencemen and they both had a strong ethic. They competed hard."

Vigneault stayed at Stewart's house for a month one season when Stewart was promoted to the Blues. When back in Salt Lake, Stewart often drove to the rink with Julien.

"The biggest thing I remember from those days is we had a lot of team cohesion," Stewart said. "Everybody got along."

The late Jack (Tex) Evans was the coach of the Golden Eagles back then. He was old school and a former NHL defencemen who won a Stanley Cup with the 1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks.

He went on to coach the Hartford Whalers. Even though he hasn't been heralded as a coaching influence the way Scotty Bowman or Roger Neilson have, the list of coaches on Evans' Whalers teams is impressive.

Reeds played for Evans on a Whalers team that included NHL head coaches Joel Quenneville, Dave Tippett and John Anderson, NHL assistant coaches Ron Francis, Brad Shaw, Brent Peterson, Randy Ladouceur, Ulf Samuelsson and Dean Evason as well as possibly a future NHL head coach in Kevin Dineen.

"Tex was an old school guy," Reeds said. "I never saw him play, but everybody knew his reputation as being a tough competitor. He was 6-foot-1, which was big for when he played. I think he taught us to respect the game and to work hard."

"Tex was a good guy who demanded respect," Steward added. "Maybe we were all a product of the environment he created."