by Amy Johnson, Lead Correspondent, AHL Report
PLYMOUTH, MICHIGAN — Every year in early August, USA Hockey hosts a 10-day National Junior Evaluation Camp (NJEC) for them and other invited countries to assess the talent pool at their disposal for the World Junior Championships. This year, Hockey Canada joined teams from Sweden and Finland at the event at its new location: USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, which is where the US hosts its National Team Development Program.
Noah Juulsen was on the ice Wednesday for the first game in the Summer Showcase tournament in which Team Canada faced off against Team Finland. In the slow-moving game the Canadians looked a bit unorganized and struggled against the Finns. The game ended up going to overtime, where Finland prevailed 2-1. Canada took the ice again on Friday, this time for a 5-1 loss to Team Sweden, but Juulsen was not in the lineup for this game.
After Friday’s game, we had a chance to catch up with Noah to ask him a few questions about Development Camp, the Summer Showcase, and his upcoming season. The 6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound defenseman says his focus for improvement is pretty simple, “Just keep getting bigger and stronger. I’m pretty tall, so as long as I keep getting bigger and stronger I should be fine.”
In terms of participating in the NJEC, Juulsen says it would mean a lot if he earned a place on the World Junior roster. “It’s kind of every kid’s dream to make the team.” He adds that being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens last year was another memorable moment in his hockey career. “It was something special, for sure.”
Listen to the full audio in the player below:
Audio from interview conducted by Amy Johnson for All Habs Hockey Magazine | Rocket Sports Media.