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Montreal Canadiens take Noah Juulsen, going back to the Everett Silvertips well

Noah Juulsen competed in the CHL Top Prospects Game in January (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)
Noah Juulsen competed in the CHL Top Prospects Game in January (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

While checking in on 2014 first-rounder Nikita Scherbak this season with the Everett Silvertips, the Montreal Canadiens amateur scouts' eyes evidently kept drifting to defenceman Noah Juulsen.

The Habs spent their No. 26 overall selection at the NHL draft in Sunrise, Fla., on Juulsen, a 6-foot-1, 174-pound defenceman that still has to fill out physically but had a promising season in the Western Hockey League. The Abbotsford, B.C., native posted 52 points across 68 games for the 'Tips, which compares favourably by the standards of a second-year defenceman. Juulsen also showed strong intuition with being able to angle forwards and anticipate opportunities to gain leverage to deliver a heavy check, suggesting that he will develop a more rugged element to his game once he adds muscle mass. Juulsen also has a powerful shot that could make him a power-play asset.

"I've been waiting for this my whole life, dreaming about this and finally it's come true," Juulsen said to Sportsnet.

Juulsen is third 'Tips defenceman in four seasons to go in the first round, joining the San Jose Sharks' Mirco Mueller (No. 18 in 2013) and Columbus Blue Jackets' Ryan Murray (No. 2 in '12).

Scherbak spent most of last season with Everett after a trade from the Saskatoon Blades, where he played during his draft season. Going against a first-rounder with silky moves contributed to Juulsen's growth.

"It's interesting, I'll say that," Juulsen said of being teammates with Scherbak during a January interview. "He's got all sorts of moves that he does and tries in practice. Pretty hard going against him in drills." 

Montreal also took at least one WHL defenceman in three of the previous four drafts.

"He's a puck-moving defenceman, a young kid who's had good coaching in Everett with [former NHL coach] Kevin Constantine," Montreal GM Marc Bergevin said of Juulsen. "He's a gentleman, with a good family."

 

 


Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.