The Sharks used their first round pick in the 2017 NHL draft to select center Josh Norris out of the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 192 pounds, Norris, taken 19th overall by San Jose, had 61 points in 61 games to lead the U.S. Under-18 team this past season. Norris has committed to play with the University of Michigan next season.
"It's a dream come true," Norris told NBCSN. "I'm so excited to join the Sharks organization and to have my family and friends here to support me."
Norris is the first center the Sharks have chosen in the first round since they selected Tomas Hertl 17th overall in 2012. That year's draft also yielded centers Chris Tierney and Danny O'Regan, in the second and fifth rounds, respectively, and defenseman Joakim Ryan in the seventh round.
The Sharks took University of Denver center Dylan Gambrell with their first pick last year, but that was in the second round at No. 60 overall.
Norris is also the first American player the Sharks have taken in the first round since they selected Charlie Coyle 28th overall in 2010. Norris was also the third American chosen after 19 picks, following center Casey Mittelstadt going to Buffalo at No. 8 and defenseman Cal Foote going to Tampa Bay at No. 14.
While Norris had a huge jump in on-ice production from last season when he had 27 points in 44 games, he also made a big impression at the recent NHL scouting combine. According to the NHL, Norris led all 104 draft-eligible players in attendance in five of the 14 fitness tests _ pro agility left and right, peak power, vertical jump and standing long jump. He was also second in mean power and fourth in bench press.
While not projected to be a top line centerman, Norris has tremendous athleticism and has better-than-average hockey sense. That might partially be because his father, Dwayne, a Canadian, played briefly in the NHL in the mid-1990s with Quebec and then Anaheim. Dwayne Norris then had a long career playing in Germany. Josh Norris, not by coincidence, speaks German.
"He's been great for me," Norris said of his father. "Obviously he played for a long time, and someone I've looked up to my whole life."
This year's NHL draft, while perhaps lacking in name recognition compared to the last two years with Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews at the top of each team's draft boards, holds plenty of potential.
"If we hold onto the No. 19 pick, we feel we'll get a good player there," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said last week in a conference call with reporters.
Compared to the last two years, Wilson said, "We think this is a good draft that runs a little deeper, especially in the first round."
The draft continues Saturday morning with the second to seventh rounds. The Sharks have seven picks remaining at No. 49 in the second round, No. 123 in the fourth round, nos. 159 and 174 in the sixth round and nos. 205, 212 and 214 in the seventh round.
That's a decent amount of currency if the Sharks wanted to move up in the second round.
In 2015, the Sharks sent the No. 39 selection they had that year, their second round pick in 2016 and their sixth rounder in 2017 to Colorado to acquire the 31st overall pick. San Jose used that pick to select defenseman Jeremy Roy out of Sherbrooke of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Centers were taken with the first two picks Friday. The New Jersey Devils took Swiss-born Nico Hischier out of Halifax of the QMJHL with the No. 1 overall pick, and the Philadelphia Flyers took Nolan Patrick out of Brandon of the Western Hockey League.
