April 11, 2023, Mississauga, ON – …. James Norton of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Toronto Jr. Canadiens has been voted OJHL Goaltender of the Year for 2022-23, the league announced today.

The Scarborough product was named the OJHL’s Top Goaltender, which is awarded to the netminder with the lowest goals-against average, last month.

Norton was selected as OJHL Goaltender of the Month for September and by season's end he still led all netminders in the 21-team league in the most important of categories. 

His 2022-23 goals-against average was 1.88 and his save percentage was .934. His record was 28-5-1 and included six shutouts. 

The 19-year-old also helped lead his team to their second straight Brant Snow Memorial Trophy, emblematic of OJHL regular season supremacy. 

“James is the ultimate teammate and competitor,” said Junior Canadiens General Manager Blake Ricci. “He entered into the program this season just looking for an opportunity to succeed and he went above and beyond from the moment he joined us.

“After a strong showing at the TEP Summer Tournament, James carried his strong play into the JHPC Showcase and didn't give up a goal for the entire tournament. Continuing into preseason games and the start of the regular season, I'm not sure James lost a game in his first 20 starts including Summer Showcase, preseason, and the regular season. Ultimately, his successes this season were a result of the hard work that James put in during the off-season and his commitment to his craft.”

A rookie at the Jr. A level, Norton played Jr. B for Caledonia and Caledon last season. He did sign with the OJHL’s Whitby Fury (now the Haliburton County Huskies) in 2020 but only played exhibition games for the team during that COVID-cancelled season.

“The transition in the grand scheme of things probably went as well as it could have gone,” Norton said of the move to the OJHL. “Obviously coming to a team like JRC, a very good team, a very respected team helped. We had a very good year and that helped, too.”

“I owe a lot to  my teammates and coaches and the entire organization. I really enjoyed the year.

Norton, who hopes to play at an NCAA Division school, wasn't always a netminder. At age 8, Norton “made the switch over” from playing out to playing goal.

“As much as I had to admit it, I was the younger brother looking up to the older brother (Luca),” Norton told the OJHL. “I told my parents, I wanted to be like him. That’s how it started and it just kind of stuck.”

Junior Canadiens Head Coach Vince Bellissimo, the OJHL Coach of the Year, was impressed.

“James did an incredible job for us this season,” Bellissimo said. “He is a big man that moves extremely well and combines that with good hockey instincts.

“We brought him in this season with moderate expectations but we realized very quickly that we had an elite goaltender on our hands with a ton of potential. He fit into our culture and day-to-day environment seamlessly and maximized the opportunity he was given. James will be a solid goaltender at the Division 1 level.”

Norton will be honoured along with the other OJHL award recipients at a ceremony before Game 1 of the OJHL Nutrafarms Championship Series in late April. The OJHL is announcing its 2022-23 award winners throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs.

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