John Norman

[Jeff]

I am fan of Oulun Kärpät, the new club of John Norman. I was wondering if someone could give me an update about him as a player. There is not that much information available.

This is what eliteprospects.com says about him:
"Norman is a very capable skater. He has impressive acceleration and reaches full speed very fast. His hockey sense is good and he has also fine technical skills to go. A capable playmaker that finds opening. Needs to fill out his frame. "

Is that valid in your oppinion? I am also wondering why he left Djurgården? Was it becouse there was no slot for him in first two lines? Is it so that he specifically wants to play as a center? I think he played a solid season last year being number 1 in +/- and 5th in points overal.

All kind of information about him is appriciated. Also how he is as a person if someone happens to know.

Training season starts in Oulu next monday. Fans are putting Norman in left wing on 4th line in pre-season speculations. Kärpät has 2 pretty good centers in first two lines, but they both has a long history with different kind of injuries so I think Norman will get a shot in first two lines during the season.

If you are intrested, I could update here during the season how he performs and so on. And please post your own review about John Norman. Thank you.

[pulverapa]

Norman is a classic center. He is the perfect third-liner who plays a solid two-way game. Eliteprospects has got it right, his skating ability is excellent. He still needs to improve his game in every aspect, but has the talent to become a decent NHL player.

I wouldn't put him in the 4th line but on the other hand I do not know your team very well. I think he could play wing but most people would agree that he is a center.

He left our club because we were relegated to the second league and he is simply too good for this league, or at least will have a better chance of making the NHL in the future if he plays in a better league.

Good luck in the European Trophy!

[Kentta]

John is a good skater, very speedy and as you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGDHPNm ... page#t=99s, he has good acceleration and puck control. He's definitely more of a passer than a scorer. He has a good ability to see the passing plays that other might not see. He and Oscar Eklund, as you probably know, has played with each other for years, so they are good friends. Possibly one reason why he decided to move to Kärpät.

And why he left Stockholm and Djurgården, that's because Djurgården were relegated to Allsvenskan, the second highest leauge in Sweden. And you can understand that he wants to play on the highest level he can, so the move to SM-liiga was a good decision by him.

He's not physical at all, but he relies on his playmaking sense instead. Very good defensively, and alright in the face off circle. He could work on his shot and physical play, but John is a guy that you're gonna be happy with. Always does his job. Definitaly think he's gonna be a top6 forward in Kärpät!

[carne]

I agree with what has been said before. He works in the background, but does his job every night.

Here is also a nice shootout goal he scored a year ago.

[DIF_Soldier]

John is a bad player.

Du är verkligen sorglig Bjurre. Jag tycker uppriktigt synd om dig. Tar du piller? Du kanske ska överväga det.

Back to topic. The analysis given above is quite spot on. John is a hard working center and also a great guy.

However his downside as I see it is his ability to convert his scoring chances, at least in the major league. The past season many of us thought and hoped that Norman would develop his game and possibly even have his breakthrough. Unfortunately, things didn't pan out for the team to say the least.

In conclusion; Norman was, despite Djurgårdens worst season in decades, one of very few players I personally didn't feel a need to slag off as often as the other players due to his mentioned work ethics.

However he still have a long way to go. He might learn to capitalize on his opportunities and produce - then you're looking at a player certain to center your second line. Otherwise he'll score about 15-20 points, in which case you have a hard working semi-skilled third line grinder at your disposal.

The later is more likely in my opinion.

[Rix]

John is an good center. He reads the game well and will probably only get better. However he is still a bit small and that shines through in some of the duels against the boards.

Overall a great pickup if he works on his strength. I think he will start off in the third lines where he fits quite good, but he can defiantly take the step in to one of the first two lines. I think that his move to your club is gonna be good for him, as he needs a fresh start to be able to become a better player.

[Lasermannen]

John is a bad player.

Du är verkligen sorglig Bjurre. Jag tycker uppriktigt synd om dig. Tar du piller? Du kanske ska överväga det.

Du ska nog sluta trycka i dig piller. Vet inte vad du dillar om.
Skaffa ett jobb med.

[Kall-El]

Norman was actually one of very few players I wanted to keep from past seasons squad. I think that should say a lot really. Could be a perfect team player in my opinion because I doubt he will be good enough for the NHL but still a very good player for a club outside that particular league. Somone to build a team around over many seasons to come.
As other have mentioned a smart player but would prfoit a lot from becoming a little bit more physical and turn some more chances into goals.

[Jeff]

He and Oscar Eklund, as you probably know, has played with each other for years, so they are good friends. Possibly one reason why he decided to move to Kärpät.

Eklund was one of our brightest stars last season. In overal he was #1 defenceman in Kärpät. Too bad he had so many injuries and he missed a lot of games. Eklund was very good offencively. There were a long periods during the winter that he seemed to be the only defender who could actually bring the puck up on his own. Eklund was pretty ok in defence zone also, but in that zone there is some room for improvment also. Anyways the coaches and the fans both were extremely happy about Eklunds performance and fans were very happy when he signed an extension to Kärpät.

Kärpät head coach Hannu Aravirta commented Norman's contract that he would like to see Norman do oscareklunds during this season. It is good to know that Norman and Eklund are friends. It probably makes it easier to live in Oulu for both of them.

Thank you for your comments about Norman. If you still have any, I'd be happy to read them. I'll drop here a post every now and then to let you know how this ex-djurgården duo is doing in Finland.

[pulverapa]

Eklund was not very popular during the 10/11 season. Many people had higher expectations on him and he didn't live up to them. I'm happy he's doing well in Uleåborg... It's a normal procedure... You leave Djurgården and then develop as a player...

[SkönaDjurgårn]

* Nice guy and a good player.
* Great skater.
* Not physical at all.
* Terrible shot, except for penalties where he "always" puts it in the net (top right shelf - you´ll see).

[Morwin]

Norman var väl inte så bra :O? Visst han var duktig på straffar sen var det väl inte så mycket mer :/

[XantE]

Norman var väl inte så bra :O? Visst han var duktig på straffar sen var det väl inte så mycket mer :/

Han var en duktig center tycker jag. En utav dem yngre som har chansen att bli något.

[Morwin]

Norman var väl inte så bra :O? Visst han var duktig på straffar sen var det väl inte så mycket mer :/

Han var en duktig center tycker jag. En utav dem yngre som har chansen att bli något.

Ja alla tycker olika :p Han tillförde då inget till laget vad ja kände, inte direkt som landeskog som kom in 2-3 matcher och bara köttade på. Känns otroligt skönt med det laget vi har i år faktiskt, tror utan tvekan på att det blir ES nästa år nu när alla floppar åkt

[Kentta]

Norman var väl inte så bra :O? Visst han var duktig på straffar sen var det väl inte så mycket mer :/

Han var en duktig center tycker jag. En utav dem yngre som har chansen att bli något.

Ja alla tycker olika :p Han tillförde då inget till laget vad ja kände, inte direkt som landeskog som kom in 2-3 matcher och bara köttade på. Känns otroligt skönt med det laget vi har i år faktiskt, tror utan tvekan på att det blir ES nästa år nu när alla floppar åkt

Haha, du jämför Norman och Gabbe?

John är en skicklig defensiv center som kan utvecklas till en riktigt bra tvåvägscenter ala Ottosson om det vill sig väl. Att han slutade +9 i +/- är väldigt bra jobbat med tanke på vilken jävla katastrofsäsong det var.