The Montreal Canadiens announced yesterday that Noah Juulsen was cleared by doctors to return to hockey. He was sent to the Laval Rocket, but will be pushing Cale Fleury for a roster spot with the Habs.
The Montreal Canadiens announced yesterday that defenseman Noah Juulsen has been cleared by doctors to return to the ice. He skated in Brossard yesterday and met with team doctors afterward who gave him the go-ahead to get back out there.
This is great news for Juulsen and the Canadiens organization. The 2015 first round pick of the Habs missed most of last season with facial injuries. He made the Canadiens roster out of training camp last season and was playing well for the Habs. Unfortunately he was hit in the face with a puck not once, but twice during a game against the Washington Capitals in November.
Juulsen was playing well for the Habs to that point in the season. He is a good-sized defender with two-way capabilities on the back end. The Surrey, British Columbia plays a physical style, but also can move the puck up ice without difficulty. He is not the fastest skater or most offensive-minded defenseman, but he played a reliable, steady game for the Canadiens, shutting things down in his own zone and then transporting the puck up to the Habs forwards to allow them to create offence.
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Though he started the season with the Habs a year ago, the 22 year old will head to the Laval Rocket. How long he stays with the Rocket remains to be seen. He played well at the NHL level last season, so it stands to reason he will be capable of regaining that form soon.
However, Juulsen has not played a game in close to 11 months. It is going to take some time for him to regain his footing and get back into game shape. He missed most of training camp with headaches and other symptoms that sound eerily similar to post-concussion syndrome. Considering he hasn’t been hurt since last November, it seems odd he would still be suffering the effects of that injury, but concussions and head injuries are hard to diagnose and predict.
With the news that Juulsen has been cleared to play, you would have to assume that means the issues have alleviated. This is great news, but doesn’t meant he will hop into the Rocket lineup today. Laval take on the Milwaukee Admirals tonight and the Rockford Ice Hogs on Monday afternoon.
It would be foolish to throw Juulsen into the lineup right away without so much as a full practice. Perhaps he gets to play against the Providence Bruins on Wednesday or Friday, but I would think he gets this weekend off, allowing him to join his teammates in a few practices before he gets tossed into game action.
Whenever he does get back into the Rocket lineup, you can guarantee the Canadiens will be keeping a close eye on him. Their leaky defense to start the season could use an upgrade and Juulsen’s steady, physical, defensive presence would be a welcome addition to the Montreal lineup.
If he can quickly get back to playing the way he was last season, he will quickly be called up to the Montreal Canadiens roster. If this is the case, it will be bad news for Cale Fleury. The 20 year old defender had an excellent training camp and was rewarded with a spot in the lineup for opening night. He played game two as well, but was a healthy scratch for the past two games.
With veterans Shea Weber and Jeff Petry on the right side, and Fleury and Juulsen looking for NHL reps, there just isn’t room for everybody. Unfortunately for Fleury, though he fully earned his roster spot with a great camp, the 20 year old could find himself back in the minors soon, especially if Juulsen proves he is ready to play like he did last season.
It’s a great problem for the Canadiens to have. It’s also not the worst thing to send a 20 year old back to the American Hockey League for some extra seasoning. Best case scenario for the organization is Juulsen returns to full health, plays great, earns a recall to the Habs quickly, continues to play great and Fleury heads to Laval and plays huge minutes on a much improved Rocket squad.
Eventually the Canadiens will be forced to make room for both Juulsen and Fleury. That time isn’t here yet, so they only have room for one of them. That means Fleury could soon be facing a return trip to Laval to make room for Juulsen.