Joshua Norris has signed a new contract with the Ottawa Senators.

To me this means that the organization expects Brown or Chlapik (maybe both) to be full time NHL players at some point this season. University of Michigan has a great program, and they would have left him there for a year if they thought he wouldn't be getting big minutes in Belleville.

Prior to his injury, I thought him turning pro was a no brainer. He was playing out of his mind in College this year, and had an incredible World Junior performance. With the injury being as big as it was, I would have thought they'd have let him get back up to speed for one more year in the NCAA.

Very excited to see what he can do at the professional level, though I wouldn't be surprised if he starts slow.

Terrible signing. Team Melnyk does not approve!

I really like Norris playing style. So much potential.

But yeah, I think Chlapik needs to be in the NHL next year to continue is development. Brown, on the other hand, is an interesting case. I think he needs to marinate a little longer in the minors before making the jump in the big leagues. Hopefully, he can pick up his play where he left it off last season.

All and all, I love this Sens team going forward. It's going to be an extremely tight and talented crop of players coming up together through the system. I mean, the rebuild sucks, but this is exactly what a "Budgeted team" / "small-market team" such as Ottawa needed to do to hopefully become competitive again.

For a former 1st round pick. Nice trade and sign for the Senators. Future could be bright in Ottawa a few years down the road.

Gonna be a great player in a few years. Ottawa's future is really looking great. If only Melnyk wasn't such a cheapstake, this team would be looking really nice right now.

Sometimes the injury is why they want to bring them in. They are protecting an asset and making sure they get care they need.

That being said, good signing.

I agree about Chlapik needing to be in the NHL, but looking at the forwards on Ottawa, I have a hard time seeing him playing above the 4th line.

It should be interesting to see how the centre situation shakes out over the next couple of years, because unless Brown takes a big step this season, it kind of looks like they have three 2nd line centers in White, Brown and Norris.

Yeah, that's a good question.

I personally think their "True Number 1 Center" gets pick up next season in a draft apparently as deep or deeper than the 2015 draft. Especially considering Dorion's track record, the # of picks they have and the high probability of them finishing in the bottom 5.

I could see that being the case. Even if they miss out on Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield looks like a 1C in the making. Been a long time since the sens found one of those in the draft.

Even if that true top 15 center is a little further away than you'd like, when you have two stud wingers like Tkachuk and Batherson, it's not hard for a guy like White to play above his station. Also why I think Ottawa should lock him up long term. If you bridge him, and he becomes the de facto 1C, he's going to ask for a lot more money.

I Know!!! I've been a big advocate for a LT White deal. Overpay during the rebuild so that Ottawa has him at a bargain when they're competitive again.

Same for Wolanin.

Look at the Tuch Deal. They took a gamble on him, and that contract looks like it could end up being a massive steal. If they can get him on a deal like that, that'd be ideal.

Wolanin I'm not as sure about. I'd probably look at a 3 year deal, but he's done so little at the NHL level, I doubt he'd sign a deal longer than that.

Real bad draft pick