With the 26th selection of the 2015 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens drafted Defenceman Noah Juulsen from the Everett Silvertips. Some fans may have been disappointed that the Canadiens did not draft an offensive forward such as Daniel Sprong in the first round. With the likes of Gurianov, Boesner and Roslovic off the board when it was the Canadiens turn to pick, I'm not surprised that the Canadiens chose to go with a highly rated defenceman. However, fans should come to realize that Juulsen is a very solid draft pick with a high upside. His immediate comparables are Kevin Bieksa and Jeff Petry, a # 3 type of Defenceman who can play with a physical edge and contribute offensively. Juulsen was ranked # 20 by McKeen's, # 22 by Hockey Prospects and # 22 by the NHL Central Scouting for North American skaters. At 6'2" and 174 lbs, Juulsen has the height and will have time in junior to continue to fill out his frame.
It was interesting to hear Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin say that Juulsen was in fact the player the Habs were targeting and in fact drafting a Defenceman was a priority.
“Since I’ve been in Montreal, we’ve drafted forwards in the first round: [Alex] Galchenyuk, [Mike] McCarron, and [Nikita] Scherbak. We felt we had an organizational need to bring in some depth on defense,… explained Bergevin. “Especially in our division, this is the kind of style of defenseman we need. We were happy to see he was still available at 26. There was no question when we got to our pick; he was our guy.…"He was the player that we wanted. We had no hesitation," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in French. "Our scouts that saw him the most told me that I'll sleep like a baby knowing that we drafted him. Members from other organizations came to tell me that we made a good pick."
A teammate of the Habs 2014 1st round pick Nikita Scherbak, the Canadiens became very familiar with Juulsen as Martin Lapointe and Rob Ramage would visit Scherbak. Some fans might have thought that Jeremy Roy would have been the natural fit for the Habs but obviously they saw more from Juulsen and felt he would be a better fit with the Canadiens. Juulsen's growth from the 2013-2014 season to this past season was astronomical to say the least. He was always known to be a great skater and defender in his own zone. The jump in his offensive game was phenomenal, going from 10 points to 52 points. This is particularly noteworthy as the Everett Silvertips play a defensive minded game under head coach Kevin Constantine. Juulsen has also been invited to Hockey Canada's Under 20 Summer Camp and so hopefully Habs fans will be able to cheer him on at the World Championships.
As of now, the Canadiens have 4 picks remaining in the draft: the 87th, 131st, 177th and 207th picks. With the flurry of trades that have been happening, it will be interesting to see if the Canadiens make a move, be it to move up the board or acquire a roster player. Stay tuned!