Juulsen earns rave reviews in NHL debut
Julien says rookie ‘a real good defensive defenceman that can skate well’
Brendan Gallagher doesn’t remember all the details from his first NHL game with the Canadiens five years ago.
“Chucky (Alex Galchenyuk) always tells me I couldn’t stop smiling,” Gallagher said after the Canadiens beat the New York Rangers 3-1 Thursday night at the Bell Centre. “I don’t remember much about it. You’re obviously excited and you have that little jump of energy and you kind of have to pinch yourself a little bit because you look around and you look at the building you’re playing in, a Montreal Canadiens sweater ... It’s a pretty special feeling.”
Noah Juulsen got to experience that feeling Thursday in his first NHL game with the Canadiens and earned some rave reviews for his performance after logging 17:14 of ice time with two shots, four hits and a plus-2 while paired with veteran Karl Alzner.
“It was incredibly impressive,” Alzner said after practice Friday in Brossard about Juulsen’s play. “I got to see him very briefly in training camp and was impressed then. But yesterday it was unbelievable. The way he played with poise, confidence. I thought he played really well. He talked a ton out there, which is a defenceman partner’s dream. So that was really nice. Solid game and solid practice today, too. That goes a long way.”
Juulsen and Alzner will be paired together again Saturday when the Canadiens play the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., City, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690). The Lightning had the best record in the NHL through Thursday’s games and also have the No. 1 offence, so they will provide a tough challenge for the 20-yearold Juulsen, who was selected in the first round (26th overall) at the 2015 NHL Draft.
Juulsen suffered a broken foot during the Canadiens’ first preseason game, otherwise he would have made his NHL debut much sooner. He played 31 games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, recording one goal, five assists and a plus/minus of minus-9.
Coach Claude Julien put Juulsen on the ice for the opening faceoff Thursday.
“Just before the game he told us the starting lineup,” said Juulsen, whose parents and girlfriend were in the Bell Centre stands. “I was nervous for sure … more in warmups than anything, getting out there first, seeing the fans, seeing everything. After the warmup, I kind of settled down and the guys in the room were great just helping me be myself and go play.”
Juulsen said Alzner was a huge help, talking to him throughout the game, both on the ice and the bench.
“I think he understands the way things develop on the ice,” Alzner said about Juulsen. “It’s only one game, so it’s tough to say for sure. But just hearing him talk, the positions that he was in, calling switches and stuff like that. That just shows someone who understands the game. There was no bad positions out there. He was just solid. He seems like a very intelligent hockey player, so that’s probably his biggest asset.”
Julien was also impressed. “He’s a real good defensive defenceman that can skate well, that can move the puck,” the coach said about Juulsen after practice Friday. “Just because he’s a defensive defenceman doesn’t mean he doesn’t support the attack. But he’s not a guy who’s going to rush the puck from end to end. At the same time, he’s a great shot-blocker. That’s how he got injured in the first pre-season game. He did the same thing last night, blocked a big shot there on the PK. In the battles, he’s good along the walls, he was physical last night.
“With experience, is that guy going to get even better? That’s what we’re hoping,” Julien added. “But right now we like what we’ve seen to start with and then hopefully that continues.”
I got to see him very briefly in training camp and was impressed then. But yesterday it was unbelievable.