Juulsen ‘always doing something to get better’

Not likely to be cut again by Team Canada

BOISBRIAND, QUE. •Carter Hart wants Noah Juulsen as a teammate at the 2017 world junior championship.

Hart, the favourite to be Canada’s starting goalie, is biased.

Juulsen, a rock-solid defenceman, not only is a teammate of Hart with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League, but also the Silvertips’ captain.

It’s what Hart sees in Juulsen, a Montreal Canadiens prospect who signed with the National Hockey League club not long after it drafted him 26th overall in 2015, on a daily basis that has him convinced Juulsen would be a strong piece of Canada’s puzzle.

“Noah is not the most vocal captain, but he’s someone who always gets the boys going,” Hart said after Canada beat the U Sports all-stars 3-0 at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau on Tuesday.

“He’s one of the guys on the ice after practice always working on something, whether it’s his shot or skating. He’s always doing something to get better.”

After Juulsen was one of the final cuts last winter — he was one of four players who had to make the long trek back to Canada from Finland — the 6-foot-2, 185-pound 19-year-old has a firm grip on a spot on Canada’s blue line.

Once Juulsen pulls on Canada’s sweater, it will end years of being on the cusp. Before he was released last winter, an injury kept him out of the Ivan Hlinka tournament when he was eligible and he couldn’t participate in the under-18 world championship because Everett was in the playoffs.

The past two seasons, Juulsen was named Everett’s most dedicated player.

None of this, of course, was lost on Hockey Canada director of player personnel Ryan Jankowski each time he went to see Juulsen play.

“Noah brings an element of edge, defensive abilities, calm and poise,” Jankowski said.

“When you have a group that has a lot of giddy-upand-go types, guys who can skate the puck and guys that make the puck exit the zone fast, you need a smart, dependable, calm person back there and that’s what we have always liked about Noah.”

Off the ice, Juulsen is the kind of person Hockey Canada wants in the dressing room.

“He’s a glue guy,” Jankowski said, “the kind who is going to bring everyone together and put people on his back and say ‘Here is the right way to do things.’”

Canada wasn’t sure Juulsen would be effective on every shift last winter on the bigger ice surface in the 2016 world junior in Helsinki, and it was one reason why he was let go. That’s not a concern on the NHL rinks this year at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and then the Bell Centre in Montreal for the medal round.

Juulsen won’t talk about having made the team yet, though he knows it’s a rather concrete possibility.

That long travel-day home last year upon being cut — Juulsen flew from Helsinki to Vancouver via Frankfurt and was able to spend some time with his family in Abbotsford, B.C., during the Christmas break — was not forgotten.

“That put a fire in my belly and I know this is my last kick at the can,” Juulsen said. “Getting cut, it did suck, but you learn from it and move on and get back to work. I knew I could have another opportunity to play this year.”

Juulsen played well on Tuesday as Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin watched from the stands.

A Canucks fan in his youth, Juulsen said he attempted to emulate hardnosed defenceman Kevin Bieska, now with the Anaheim Ducks, each time he stepped on the ice as he moved his way through minor hockey and into the WHL.

Now that Juulsen has got to this point, he’s doing just fine being himself.

“I love the guy,” Hart said. “He probably has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I think he is going to be one of this team’s best defenders.”