Rookie already leader for Wranglers

Nolan Julseth-White answers to several nicknames, including "Juice," "J-Dub" and "Whitey," but only one word truly is needed to describe the Wranglers rookie defenseman - leader.

"He could be captain of our team. That's how highly I think of him as a guy," Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said. "He's extremely committed to the game. He's a student of the game. He's going to be a great pro."

As team captain of tiny Union College - a private liberal arts school of 2,200 students in Schenectady, N.Y. - Julseth-White helped lead the Dutchmen to an improbable run to the NCAA's Frozen Four last season.

"We just bought into the system and had solid leadership all around, from the freshmen upward. That's the key to what got us there. It was just a collective effort," the 24-year-old said. "It was definitely a big accomplishment for the school, to put it on the map nationwide. It seemed like it was never going to end, the roll we went on."

Anchoring a defense that led the country in goals-against average (1.83), Julseth-White helped Union win its second straight Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season crown, first ECAC tournament title and two NCAA Tournament games en route to the school's first trip to the Frozen Four.

"I don't think we're here without him. I really don't," Dutchmen coach Rick Bennett said of Julseth-White before Union's 3-1 loss to Ferris State in the national semifinals.

A native of Chilliwack, British Columbia, who also captained his Team Canada junior team and the Langley Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League, Julseth-White quickly earned the respect of Wranglers team captain Mike Madill, his partner on defense.

"He's really serious and really focused on getting better," Madill said. "He's a young guy, but you can tell he's a leader already. He's a first-year pro, but he's still in command out there. That's hard to find."

Las Vegas forward Josh Lunden played with Julseth-White in the BCHL and urged Mougenel to sign him this summer.

If not for the NHL lockout, Mougenel said Julseth-White already would be in the American Hockey League.

"It isn't a question of if he'll be up (in the AHL) at some point this year, it's just kind of when," he said. "He's got some offensive upside, but his real meat and potatoes, how he's going to make a living in this game, is being a hard-nosed, in-your-face, consistent contributor from the back end.

"He's exactly what we needed and probably the abrasive element we were missing last year."

The 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound Julseth-White showed his grit in the Wranglers' final preseason game in Alaska, where he took an elbow to the face that broke his nose.

"He didn't miss a shift, and (his nose) was on the other side of his face," Mougenel said. "He's a tough kid."

After compiling 18 assists in 100 games for Union, Julseth-White has three assists through his first five games for the Wranglers (3-1-1), who erased a 3-1 third-period deficit in a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Eagles (1-4-2) on Saturday night at Orleans Arena.

A four-time ECAC All-Academic selection who graduated in June with a degree in managerial economics and a minor in mathematics, Julseth-White said his leadership qualities were instilled in him at a young age by his parents.

"That's how they raised me," he said. "They taught me to have a very high level of respect for everybody and treat people as you'd expect to be treated in return, and that's helped me out in a lot of situations.

"They definitely held me accountable growing up and were quite strict with a lot of things. That's just how I am, holding guys accountable when it's my job to do that."

As for his last name, Julseth is his mother's maiden name, which she wanted to keep because he and his brother are the only male children on her side of the family. White is his father's name. Hence, the hyphen.

Just call him a leader.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.