Devils sign young netminding prospect

The Cardiff Devils are delighted to announce the signing of top netminding prospect Ben Norton, who signs on a two-way contract with the Bristol Pitbulls.

Born in Yorkshire, the 19-year-old played junior hockey in Coventry and Sheffield before heading Stateside to continue his development. 

Norton spent three years at Northwood School before this past season representing the Columbia Infantry in the USPHL in both the Premier and Elite division. Alongside this, Norton has represented GB twice at junior level, with a combined 8-1-0 record and a save% of .934 across the two tournaments for the U18s & U20s. 

Ben Norton spoke about signing with Bristol and the Devils:  

“It’s a great opportunity to play in the NIHL for a great team, as well as having the two-way arrangement in place meaning I’m on the ice with Ben Bowns & Euan King, skating with the Devils regularly. All that meant it was a pretty easy decision. I want to be a good teammate and help start to build a winning culture in Bristol, pushing forwards from last season. I aim to come in and help the guys win games whilst improving my game.” 

Bristol Head Coach Jamie Elson is pleased to be able to bring in one of GB’s top prospects, and thanks the Devils for the continued two-way arrangement. He said, “We are excited to be able to finalise our goalie tandem for the year ahead with the addition of Ben. I've been following Ben the past year or two when he was playing for GB U18s and then U20s last year and he's been a big performer and really led his teams. He is good technically, and has a really high compete level, something I really liked when I watched his game videos back.”

Ben Norton will be at training camp with the Devils and will likely feature at some point during the pre-season for the Devils.