MONTREAL - After suiting up for 23 games with the Canadiens during the 2017-18 campaign, Noah Juulsen is eager to hit the ground running when training camp opens in a couple of weeks.

We recently caught up with the 21-year-old rearguard following a busy day of training in Chilliwack, BC.

How has the summer been, Noah? I'm sure it's been nice being back on home turf in British Columbia.

NOAH JUULSEN: It's been good so far. I've been living in Chilliwack. My girlfriend's family has a place at Cultus Lake, so I've been there pretty much all summer. It's a short drive to where I work out, which is awesome. The last couple of weeks have been a little smoky because of the fires, but now it cleared up and the weather's pretty good. I'm just excited to get back at it in a couple of weeks and be in Montreal and get going again. I think everyone's going to be recharged and the batteries are going to be good to go. It's going to be a great feeling to see those guys again, build off the friendships that I've started and continue that throughout the year.

Did you manage to get away for a bit, too?

NJ: I went on a European cruise with my girlfriend's family for a week. We stopped in places like Croatia, Greece and Italy. It was a great first experience in Europe. The whole trip just exceeded my expectations. We went on a kayaking tour and visited some great spots along the way. You'd leave the boat, go out for six hours and then get back on. In the end, it was perfect. Six hours is quite a bit of time to see everything in some of the smaller towns.

sailing around mykonos⛵️ Une publication partagée par brookie🌿 (@brooke.visco) le 1 Août 2018 à 6 :24 PDT

Reflect on last season and what you learned during your first full year in the pros?

NJ: Playing in Laval was obviously a learning experience. We weren't a winning team. Even when you aren't winning, though, you've still got to find ways to bond together. Then, getting called up was a huge thing for me. I didn't put up a lot of points in Laval, but I think I did what I needed to do to show management the type of player I am. I came to play every night. I think coaches want to see that consistency. That was the biggest reason why I was called up. Being with the Canadiens, it helped to build some confidence. I've just got to go into camp this year and play the way I was playing the last 23 games with the Habs.

Where do you see yourself fitting in with the Canadiens in 2018-19? What role are you hoping to play with the big club?

NJ: I just want to be on the team. Whether I'm a third-pair defenseman or a second-pair defenseman, it doesn't matter to me. I want to play. Coming into camp healthy and staying healthy is huge. That's my plan. I want to show what I can do right from the start and hopefully stick the whole year. At the end of last season, they had me on the penalty kill. That's a role I want to keep on playing. I've always been a penalty-killer. I want to block shots, too. That's what I like to do.

How's the training been going?

NJ: I think the biggest thing for me was to keep putting on weight. Gaining a little more strength is always good, too. Those were the biggest things for me this summer. I'm at 203 pounds right now. For me, the message I got heading into the season was to put in that gym time and train hard. It was about going in there with the mindset that you've got to get better today in order to be better in the future. I wanted to have a good attitude, focus the whole time and show myself what I could do. But, you also have to enjoy it. You have to have fun while you're doing it. The group we have there, we're always having fun. We're always doing activities away from the gym, too, like a little beach workout that ends up with a kayaking race. That was awesome.

The off-season @clubxofitness Une publication partagée par Paul Nicolls (@paulclubxofitness) le 10 Juil. 2018 à 11 :27 PDT

Did you do anything different training-wise from previous years?

NJ: I kind of got into the cycling side of it and spinning. The classes help you stay in shape. I think that was the major change, along with more power lifting this year than I've done in the past.

Did you keep in touch with any of the guys over the summer?

NJ: Gally [Brendan Gallagher] texted me a little bit and Shea Weber sent me a couple of texts the other day just to see how things were going. I think that means a lot to a young guy. You're not really expecting that, especially as a younger player who was only up with the Canadiens for the last couple of months of the season. For them to reach out and send a text here and there, it means a lot to a guy hoping to be in the NHL for a very long time.

Who would you say really helped you in terms of your development with the Canadiens last season?

NJ: Once I got called up, I think Karl [Alzner] was a huge part of it. He was always talking to me and texting me. He was kind of the one who was taking care of me and watching over me. That was huge, the fact that he took the time to do that. He didn't have to do it. He didn't need to do it. But, he chose to do it and he chose to make sure I was always doing well. When he was in Europe earlier in the summer, he actually sent me a couple of texts just to check in. It was nice just to have that feeling of another guy checking in on you.