Craig Norwich

Last updated
Craig Norwich
Born (1955-12-15) December 15, 1955 (age 69)
Edina, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for HC Fassa
HC Gherdëina
Colorado Rockies
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
Cincinnati Stingers
National teamFlag of the United States.svg  United States
NHL draft 142nd overall, 1975
Montreal Canadiens
WHA draft 184th overall, 1974
Houston Aeros
Playing career 1977–1987

Craig Richard Norwich (born December 15, 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Norwich led the Edina East High School hockey team to the prestigious Minnesota State High School League Hockey Tournament three times, including captaining the 1974 championship team. In college, Norwich became the second defenseman in NCAA history to lead his team in scoring and win the NCAA Championship in the same season. As a professional he played in 145 games with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association and 104 games in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Rockies, Winnipeg Jets, and St. Louis Blues.

Contents

Playing career

Norwich played three years at the University of Wisconsin. After scoring 45 points in 38 games as a freshman in 1974-75, Norwich was chosen 142nd overall by the Montreal Canadiens at the Amateur Draft. He finished with 168 career points during his college career and was named to the WCHA second all-star team in 1976 and the first team the next year. After helping the Badgers win the NCAA title in 1977, he was named to the championship tournament all-star team.

The talented blueliner opted to join the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA where he could play regularly rather than try to break into the Habs' deep roster. He scored 87 points in two years for Cincinnati and was a member of the US team that finished sixth at the 1978 World Championships.

On June 9, 1979, Norwich was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA Dispersal Draft. He remained with the team when it joined the NHL in 1979-80 and was an offensive force from the blueline. A highlight for him that season was scoring two goals when the Jets earned their first NHL win, 4-2 over the Colorado Rockies. Norwich registered 45 points and scored seven power play goals on the fast-skating Jets. Prior to the 1980-81 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for defensive forward Rick Bowness. He scored 16 points in 23 games for his new club then was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies. He averaged over a point per game in Denver then joined the US squad that finished fifth at the 1981 World Championships.

Norwich battled injuries and played exclusively in the AHL during the 1981-82 season. He then chose to explore his options in Europe with the Gardena Finstral club of Italy where he averaged over three points per game. He later suited up for Lausanne in Switzerland before returning to Italy with Groden and HC Fassa and played with Innsbruck, Austria in 1987-88, then Lake Como in Italy retiring in 1990 after winning the Italian Championship with Como.

Post-playing career

From 1990 to 1996, Norwich was the Director of Hockey and Head Coach at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, MN. He moved to Vail, CO to become the Director of Hockey and Head Coach of the Vail AAA Hockey Program. Norwich was the Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the boys Varsity hockey team at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul, MN, from 2005 until he resigned in January 2010. Norwich has also coached with the LA Junior Kings, the Minnesota Rockets AAA, and Team Midwest Tier One Hockey Program.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1971–72 Edina High School HS-MN ——————————
1972–73Edina High SchoolHS-MN——————————
1973–74Edina High SchoolHS-MN—82533——————
1974–75 University of Wisconsin B-10 3811344524—————
1975–76 University of WisconsinB-103213274066—————
1976–77 University of WisconsinB-104418658370—————
1977–78 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 657233048—————
1978–79 Cincinnati StingersWHA80651577330114
1979–80 Winnipeg Jets NHL 7010354536—————
1980–81 Fort Worth Texans CHL 80446—————
1980–81 St. Louis Blues NHL234121614—————
1980–81 Colorado Rockies NHL113111410—————
1981–82 Springfield Indians AHL 28591426—————
1982–83 HC Gherdëina ITA 3135629764—————
1983–84 Lausanne HC NLB ——————————
1984–85 HC GherdëinaITA12242200014
1984–85 Adirondack Red Wings AHL16471116—————
1985–86 HC Fassa ITA31146377283011114
1986–87 HC FassaITA3714556982—————
WHA totals14513748712130114
NHL totals10417587560—————

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1978 United States WC 101232
1981 United StatesWC81010
1983 United StatesWC-B71670
Senior totals2538112

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-WCHA Second Team 1975–76 [1]
AHCA West All-American 1975–76
1976–77 		[2]
All-WCHA First Team 1976–77 [1]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1977 [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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