Bradley Norton (born February 13, 1975) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. Norton played for five seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Norton started his professional career with the

Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the International Hockey League (IHL). Originally founded in 1969 as the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in Salt Lake City, the team was purchased by Palace Sports & Entertainment ...

in the IHL in 1997. He was drafted in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft as the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

' ninth-round pick, #215 overall. He has played a total of 124

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

games with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. Norton signed with

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (, English: Joker (playing card), Jokers or Jesters of Helsinki) is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. Jokerit plays its home games at the Helsinki Ice Hall and Helsinki Halli in ...

in the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

. On December 15, 2006, he abruptly left the team to play in North America by invoking an NHL release clause in his contract. The Senators signed Norton to a one-year two-way deal on March 7, 2006. He gained viral video fame that year when his 16 April non-fight with

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

enforcer Aaron Downey. The two squared off with fists raised for forty seconds before being escorted to the

penalty box The penalty box or sin bin (sometimes called the bad box, or simply bin or box) is the area in ice hockey, rugby union, rugby league, roller derby and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offence not ...

without having thrown a punch or made contact in any way. On June 23, 2006, Norton was signed by the

. He started the 2006–07 season, with the Red Wings, but injury struck and he was assigned to affiliate, the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

, upon recovery. Norton signed a one-year contract with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

on July 18, 2007. Norton did not play a game with the Sharks as a back injury caused him to miss the season.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of former NHLer

Jeff Norton Jeffrey Thomas Norton (born November 25, 1965) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Norton was selected in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the New York I ...

, and is married to

Playboy Radio Playboy Radio was an internet radio station originally launched on XM Satellite Radio on September 1, 2002. Its programming was dedicated to similar topics and celebrity personalities found in its parent publication, Playboy Magazine. It w ...

afternoon advice show host Tiffany Granath. Norton was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, attended

Cushing Academy Cushing Academy is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9–12 and a postgraduate year. History Cushing ...

in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, but grew up in

Acton, Massachusetts Acton is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately west-northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord, Massachusetts, Concord and about southwest of Lowell ...

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Brad 1975 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Binghamton Senators players Detroit Red Wings players Detroit Vipers players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Florida Panthers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hershey Bears players Jokerit players Living people Los Angeles Kings players Ottawa Senators players Sportspeople from Acton, Massachusetts Ice hockey people from Cambridge, Massachusetts UMass Minutemen ice hockey players Washington Capitals players Isenberg School of Management alumni 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate ice hockey players in Finland