Josh Norris selected by San Jose at No. 19 overall in the 2017 Draft
By @MichaelCaples –
Josh Norris will be skating in Ann Arbor next fall, but soon after, he may skating in San Jose.
The Sharks selected Norris, a University of Michigan commit, in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft Friday night in Chicago.
“It’s a dream come true,” Norris said on the NBC Sports live broadcast. “I’m so excited to join the Sharks organization, and to have my friends and family here supporting me, I don’t know how I can ever repay them, I’m so thankful for them.”
He said he had an inkling that he could be joining the Sharks’ organization.
“I thought we had a really good interview at the Combine and I had a feeling,” Norris said.
Norris was a standout forward with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth the last two seasons. During his post-draft interview, he said he’s excited to join the Wolverines in the fall.
“I’m going to go to college next year and focus on my development and try to get better every day and see where that takes me,” said Norris, who becomes the 21st Wolverine selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.
When asked about the state of his collegiate program, he said he’s confident in the team’s roster and their new coach in Mel Pearson.
“I think they definitely had a little bit of a down year last year, but they were young, and I think with the guys coming in this year, it’s going to be great,” Norris said. “I’m really happy with Coach Pearson there and I think he’s going to do a great job. I’m really looking forward to next year.”
The new member of the Sharks organization is the son of Dwayne Norris, a former star at Michigan State and longtime NHL forward.
“It was a whirlwind, it’s so surreal, but he just said how proud of me he is,” Norris said of the embrace shared with his father after his name was called. “It was a good moment that we had, and I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”
“Someone I’ve looked up to my whole life,” Norris said about his father during his NBC Sports interview, one in which he had to explain why he was carrying around a troll with him – the NTDP Under-18 Team’s good luck charm this season. The troll was purchased by his mom, Traci, and was nicknamed “Dustin the Troll.”
Introducing #DustinTheTroll, newest member of the #SJSharks. #SharksDraft pic.twitter.com/OLS35mRR6g
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) June 24, 2017
The Oxford native spent the majority of his youth hockey career playing for the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies – his brothers Coale and Dalton also skated with the same AAA organization, and Dwayne helps in a management role.
He said he’s looking forward to heading west soon.
“Never been to San Jose or California, so excited to get out there,” Norris said.
Norris finished tied for the team lead in points with the NTDP Under-18 Team this past season, logging 61 points in 61 games.
MiHockey’s Matt Mackinder contributed to this report from Chicago…
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