Dwayne Norris
Encyclopedia
Carl Dwayne Norris (born January 8, 1970 in St. John's, Newfoundland
) is a former professional ice hockey
player. He started his hockey career with the St. John's Capitals (Caps) of the Avalon Junior Hockey League. He left home at the young age of 14 to play with the Notre Dame Hounds. He then went on to play college hockey with Michigan State. From there he joined the AHL's Cornwall Aces after being drafted by the Quebec Nordiques
(127th overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft
. The Aces then moved their team to Halifax in 1994 under the name Halifax Citadels. Norris appeared in 20 National Hockey League
regular season games for the Nordiques and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points and collecting 8 penalty minutes. In 1996 he moved to Germany and joined the Kölner Haie
(Cologne Sharks) of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In 2002 he won the German Championship with the Sharks when Cologne beat perennial rivals Mannheim Eagles 3:2 in the best-of-five final series with Norris netting the game winner in each of the Sharks' victories. Before the 2003/04 season he signed with league rivals Frankfurt Lions
and immediately helped the Lions win the league title in his first season in Frankfurt. After three more seasons Norris retired from active play and, in a surprise move by his last club, became the Lions' General Manager in 2007, a position he held until the team filed for bankruptcy in May 2010.
His most memorable moment may have occurred during the 1990 Junior World Hockey Tournament in Helsinki when he scored the winning goal to help Team Canada beat Czechoslovakia and win the gold medal. In 1994 Norris won a silver medal with Team Canada at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
Don Cherry once referred to Norris as "one of the best damn skaters to come out of this country". Cherry also stated numerous times that he should have been given more ice time in Quebec and Anaheim.
His younger brother Warren Norris
is also a professional ice hockey player.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
) is a former professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. He started his hockey career with the St. John's Capitals (Caps) of the Avalon Junior Hockey League. He left home at the young age of 14 to play with the Notre Dame Hounds. He then went on to play college hockey with Michigan State. From there he joined the AHL's Cornwall Aces after being drafted by the Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
(127th overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft
NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements...
. The Aces then moved their team to Halifax in 1994 under the name Halifax Citadels. Norris appeared in 20 National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
regular season games for the Nordiques and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points and collecting 8 penalty minutes. In 1996 he moved to Germany and joined the Kölner Haie
Kölner Haie
The Kölner Haie are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.The team colours are red and white....
(Cologne Sharks) of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In 2002 he won the German Championship with the Sharks when Cologne beat perennial rivals Mannheim Eagles 3:2 in the best-of-five final series with Norris netting the game winner in each of the Sharks' victories. Before the 2003/04 season he signed with league rivals Frankfurt Lions
Frankfurt Lions
The Frankfurt Lions were a professional men's ice hockey club from Frankfurt, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club ceased operations in 2010 due to financial difficulty.-History:...
and immediately helped the Lions win the league title in his first season in Frankfurt. After three more seasons Norris retired from active play and, in a surprise move by his last club, became the Lions' General Manager in 2007, a position he held until the team filed for bankruptcy in May 2010.
His most memorable moment may have occurred during the 1990 Junior World Hockey Tournament in Helsinki when he scored the winning goal to help Team Canada beat Czechoslovakia and win the gold medal. In 1994 Norris won a silver medal with Team Canada at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
Don Cherry once referred to Norris as "one of the best damn skaters to come out of this country". Cherry also stated numerous times that he should have been given more ice time in Quebec and Anaheim.
His younger brother Warren Norris
Warren Norris
Warren Norris is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for EC KAC in the Austrian Hockey League. He has previously played in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League in North America and in the British Ice Hockey Superleague, the Slovak Extraliga and...
is also a professional ice hockey player.