Josi Honored, Humbled to Receive First Norris Trophy

The congratulatory text messages came in waves.
They first started hitting Roman Josi's phone from those residing in North America immediately following the announcement of his Norris Trophy win on Monday evening. Then, as the sun began to rise in his native Switzerland, the mobile notifications burst again.
The notes were composed in different languages and lengths, each one of them from an individual who knows how deserving Josi was to receive the honor.

But no matter who sent them or how much was said, they all came with the same sentiment of pride reserved for a monumental accomplishment like the one Josi had earned.
That's something the Predators captain will never forget.
"I'm not going to lie, it was pretty awesome," Josi said of the experience of winning the Norris. "It was such an amazing day for me and my family… It's pretty special just seeing how people are happy for you, and it definitely means a lot… [I heard from] a lot of teammates, a lot of guys I've played with, a lot of people from Switzerland and people don't see that often, so it's been a pretty cool day and definitely pretty special."

Of course, for all the praise Josi received, he made a point to return the favor to a number of others.
Two familiar names the blueliner made sure to mention were those of former Preds Captain Shea Weber and Josi's current defensive partner - and Preds Associate Captain - Ryan Ellis.
When Josi arrived in Nashville on a full-time basis during the 2011-12 season, Weber was at the top of his game and in consideration for his own Norris Trophy. For a young defenseman like Josi at the time, there was no one better to learn from, and he credits Weber with showing him how to be a professional in the NHL.
"Coming up as a young kid and seeing Shea Weber practice every day, seeing him play every day - and then I got to play with him on a pairing - it was pretty cool," Josi said. "There's nothing better for a young kid to learn from a guy like him. He's one of those guys [who] definitely deserves to win the Norris, and he's just such a great person and such a great player to learn from. I was very lucky."
Ellis also learned under Weber's tutelage, and now he and Josi combine to make up Nashville's top defensive pairing, and arguably the top duo in the League.
"Playing with Elly the last couple years, he's just such a rock back there," Josi said. "He's so solid, he lets me play my game and he's an unbelievable player. I should probably give half of this trophy to him, and I hope he wins one of those. He definitely deserves it, he's an unbelievable player and I'm very glad I'm playing with him."

As humble as they come, Josi also deserves plenty of the credit for becoming the best player he could be. With that much natural talent, Josi's name will now be uttered in the same breath as some of the greatest to ever play the game.
"I was looking at some of the names who have won it, and those are all guys I've idolized when I was younger," Josi said. "Scott Niedermeyer was a guy I've looked up to - I really loved his game - Chris Pronger, Chris Chelios, obviously Bobby Orr… [to be] next to those guys is pretty cool. It always seemed so far away growing up [to one day have] my name on that trophy that so many great defensemen have won before."
Josi doesn't need to have that dream any longer, and while there are still things he wants to accomplish in this League, he's certainly taking a moment to appreciate this accolade for all its worth.
"On a personal standpoint, it's always been a dream of mine and it's pretty surreal that I've actually won this," Josi said. "It's definitely a dream coming true… It definitely sounds a little crazy that I've actually won it now, but it's very humbling."