Josh Norris’ unique path to the NTDP
This article originally appeared in the Oct. 17, 2016 issue of MiHockeyMag.
By @MichaelCaples –
Josh Norris is a native of Oxford, Mich. His hockey biography points to him being an alumnus of the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, and he represents his state and his country as a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth.
When your dad is a professional hockey player, however, you end up growing up on other parts of the globe. For Norris, it was Germany.
His father, Michigan State alum Dwayne Norris, spent 11 years in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Germany’s top professional league.
“It’s a lot different,” Norris said of his time in Germany. “Everything’s different. The culture’s different. The hockey’s different. The food’s different. I got used to it; I loved it over there. Me and my brothers loved it over there. We went to my dad’s hockey games all the time. It was just a different lifestyle but it was great.”
Norris said that spending time with his dad at the rink helped him keep a sense of an American lifestyle.
“Yeah definitely – every day I was in the locker room with my dad and his teammates, kind of just hanging out with them and they would have fun with me and I would go on the ice and skate with them after practice. For me as a little kid I always looked up to those guys so it was special.”
MORE: A chat with NTDP Under-18 Team forward, Oxford native, UM commit Josh Norris (video)
Hanging out with professional hockey players also drove Norris’ hunger to create his own successful hockey path.
“I think it made me want to be a hockey player even more, seeing the lifestyles that they had every day and they worked so hard to get to where they are,” the 17-year-old said. “Just wanted to be like them one day.”
Norris admitted that his return to his homeland was a difficult one.
“It was kind of hard to be honest with you,” he said. “Over there school is a lot different. I was at a Montessori school so I was with English and German kids. It’s kind of hard to explain because it’s so different. You come over here and everything’s I guess normal but they’re both different in their own ways and I like both of them.”
His transition was smoothed, of course, by hockey. Norris’ eyes lit up when asked about his time with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies.
“It was unbelievable,” Norris said of his time with OJG, the program his dad works for as head coach of the U16 AAA team and as a member of the board of directors. “The first 10 years of my life I lived in Germany so I got back here and everything was sort of new to me. They were one of the first teams that I joined and I stayed with them for about five years. A lot of my best friends today are still from as I played with them on the Grizzlies. It’s a great organization and I thank them for everything they did for me.”
These days, it’s safe to say that Norris is well-adjusted to his surroundings. He enters his second year with the NTDP in Plymouth as one of the top draft-eligible prospects not only on his team, but in the country. Norris was graded as the No. 23 overall prospect for the 2017 NHL Draft on TSN director of scouting Craig Button’s draft board, and NHL Central Scouting gave him a ‘B’ grade, which estimates a second or third-round pick.
He isn’t paying attention to those at the moment, however.
“To be honest with you I don’t really think anything of it,” Norris said. “They don’t really mean anything to me right now. It’s early in the year. I know there’s a lot of work left to be done. Hopefully I can get there by the end of the year but for right now I don’t really look into that stuff very much.”
And on that note, he doesn’t have any personal goals for the season – other than doing whatever he can to help his team win.
“…I don’t want to limit myself to things that I can do, I just want to do as much as I can and try to help this team win as much as possible.”
No matter where he ends up on draft day, he knows where he will be next fall. Despite his family ties to MSU, Norris is on his way to Ann Arbor.
“It’s a pretty easy answer – I mean who doesn’t want to play on Michigan?” Norris said. “Obviously Red Berenson, they’re coaching staff, the history of the program, all the guys they’ve sent to the NHL, the academics, the atmosphere, Yost, you name it they have it. That’s why I want to go there.”
He acknowledged that it was an awkward decision, however.
“It was a little bit. I had always kind of wanted to go to Michigan State. My mom went there. My dad went there. My aunt and uncles went there. So it was a little bit tough to go the other route but I know it’s the right choice for me.”
His dad – a member of the Spartans from 1988-92 – was supportive in the process.
“He said it was ultimately my decision,” Norris said. “He gave me some advice and was there for me along the way if I wanted to know anything but ultimately it was my decision and he supports me with it.”