MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens have lost another former first-round draft pick.
Defenceman Noah Juulsen was claimed off waivers by the Florida Panthers on Monday. Juulsen, a Surrey, B.C. Native, was picked 26th overall in the 2015 NHL draft.
The young defenceman's career was derailed by a series of injuries. In 2018, he suffered a facial fracture when he was twice struck by a puck to the face during a game against the Washington Capitals. He also suffered a number of concussions during his career.
In total, Juulsen played just 44 games for the Habs. In the 2017-18 season, his first in the NHL, he played 23 games, scoring a goal and adding two assists. The next year, he played 21 games, adding another goal and four assists.
Juulsen was placed on waivers as the Habs began whittling down their lineup in advance of Wednesday's season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Eight other players, including forward Jordan Weal, defenceman Xavier Ouellet and goalie Charlie Lindgren were placed on waivers as well and will be assigned to either the AHL's Laval Rocket or the NHL team's taxi squad.
On Monday, recently signed forwards Michael Frolik and Corey Perry were also placed on waivers.
Juulsen is the latest in a long series of first-round picks who haven't panned out in Montreal. Mikhael Sergachev, taken a year after Juulsen, was famously traded to Tampa Bay for Jonathan Drouin. Nikita Scherbak, the team's 2014 pick, was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Kings in 2018 and has since returned to Russia to play in the KHL. Other recent first-round picks who didn't pan out for the team include Michael McCarron, Alex Galchenyuk, Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi and Louis Leblanc.
