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The Everett Silvertips have produced a pair of good defencemen in recent years, including Ryan Murray of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Mirco Mueller of the San Jose Sharks. They say that good things come in threes though, and Noah Juulsen is working to complete the trifecta. With Mueller unexpectedly making the Sharks out of training camp this year, Juulsen was suddenly thrust into a top pairing role, and he thrived, playing big minutes and in all situations. He put up nine goals and 52 points in 68 games, good for third in the WHL amongst draft eligible defencemen. He seemed to struggle in the playoffs though, only getting one assist in six games, that said he did miss five games due to an injury so its unclear how healthy he was when he did play. An Abottsford, British Columbia native, Juulsen represented Team Pacific at the January 2014 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge, and was invited to the tryout camp for the Ivan Hlinka tournament last summer but couldn’t crack the lineup.
Noah Juulsen
Defense — shoots Right
Born Apr 2 1997 — Abbotsford, BC
Height 6.02 — Weight 174 [188 cm/79 kg]
Noah Juulsen is a strong skater, with a smooth and fluid stride. While he’s not an absolute speedster, he does have good speed and acceleration. Its in his edgework and agility though that he really shines. Juulsen pivots quickly and this allows him to cover large areas of the ice. He is able to use his agility to walk the line on the powerplay and open up shooting and passing lanes. The ability to quickly change directions, makes him tough to beat one-on-one and helps him to quickly explode into huge hits if a forwards tries to beat him to the outside. His balance is good, helping him in board battles, but he could really stand to add more lower body strength to really excel in this area. At 6’2″ tall, and listed at just 174 pounds, there is certainly room to add muscle to his frame in both the lower and upper body.
Noah Juulsen has good offensive skills. He has very good hockey sense, making smart plays with it on his stick, and choosing good times to join the rush or pinch in at the blue line. He combines his strong skating with good stick handling and is able to join the rush. Juulsen has the poise necessary to control the play at the line and quarterback the play from the blue line. He also has very good vision, and makes strong passes both to start the transition out of the zone, long breakaway passes, off the rush, or controlling the play in the zone. Juulsen has a hard slap shot, and good one-timer, as well as a good release on his wrist shot. He gets the puck through to the net and creates deflection and rebound opportunities for his teammates.
Noah Juulsen plays a physical game in his own end. He is willing to throw big hits, and to battle for loose pucks in the corners. He also does a decent job clearing the crease. His aggressiveness can get him into trouble though, as there are times he seems to get out of position looking for that big hit. Juulsen is tough to beat off the rush due to his good skating and edgework, but has some issues with reading the play defensively when the other team has the puck down low. He is more than willing to do what it takes to win, including block shots.
Juulsen has the potential to be a top four defender in the NHL, and produce offence at even strength and on the power play. He needs some maturity and some good coaching in his own end of the ice to reach his ceiling though. Juulsen’s game is similar to James Wisniewski, though this is a stylistic comparison only and not one based on talent.
Below are some videos of Noah Juulsen in action.
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