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"Noah took some of the younger players under his wing to show them what it is to be part of the Montreal Canadiens and what kind of culture the Montreal Canadiens want," Lapointe said. "So for me, Juulsen is a guy who shows a lot of leadership. He's not a guy that talks too much, but with his play on the ice, he's going to be a leader for the Montreal Canadiens in the future."
Juulsen, 20, said he wanted to help the less-experienced players make the most of their opportunity.
"Coming in when it was my first year, I was nervous," said Juulsen, who grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia. "I was scared to be here, and I think I was helping the younger guys just relax on the ice and just play their game so they can be the best they can be."
Juulsen (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) broke his jaw at the end of the 2015-16 season playing for Everett in the Western Hockey League, limiting his participation in his second development camp, so he was happy to be back in scrimmages this year.
"They're pretty high-tempo," Juulsen said. "There are a lot of great players. It's the middle of summer, so I think it's a great thing to come here and it kind of gets you right back in shape for the rest of summer, and I think the talent and skill has been great this year and the last two years I've been here."
With Mikhail Sergachev traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 15 for forward Jonathan Drouin, Juulsen is unquestionably the Canadiens' top defenseman prospect.
Juulsen won a silver medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship playing for Canada, which lost the final to the United States at Bell Centre. He had 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 49 games in his fourth season with Everett.
After Everett was eliminated from the WHL playoffs, Juulsen joined St. John's, the Canadiens' American Hockey League affiliate, and made his professional debut with two playoff games.
"I thought I did well," he said. "I was hitting and I just thought I had to play a little faster, a little quicker, you know, just quicker decisions, but I thought I played two pretty solid games, and they were pretty pleased with how I played."
The AHL team has relocated to Laval, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal, and Juulsen likely will be a part of the inaugural season there, though he hopes to make a strong enough impression to play for the Canadiens.
And whether Juulsen plays at Bell Centre or at Place Bell, Laval's new 10,000-seat arena, he knows there will be a lot more scrutiny on his game, evidenced by the crowds that turned up to watch development camp.
"There's a lot of focus on the players around here," he said. "It's almost crazy the amount of focus you get and the attention, but it's pretty awesome."
