Jooris earning ice time with the Flames

It’s a real ‘Cinder-fella’ story. Burlington’s Josh Jooris is a 24-year old forward, who for a long time, flew under the hockey radar. But no longer. The former Burlington Cougar went the U.S. college route. Jooris is now one of the NHL’s hottest rookies with the Calgary Flames.

Josh Jooris has scored 8 goals in 21 games. Good enough for third place among NHL rookies, and third among his fellow Flames.

He netted his first professional hat trick last week, and has become a fixture on Calgary’s power play and penalty killing units.

Flames Head Coach Bob Hartley: “He’s been an unbelievable story. Last year we were bringing all kinds of players from the minors, we never heard his name. At training camp we had slotted him to play one exhibition game, which is not a lot, and he forced our hands.”

Josh’s dad, Mark, played in the American League and overseas, but never got the opportunity to play in the NHL.

Needless to say, this is a dream come true for the whole Jooris family.

Josh Jooris: “My parents are the ones I’ve got to calm down, they’re really excited, so when I talk to them I’ve got to take a step back and realize I gotta’ keep going here.”

His humble, no-nonsense approach has contributed to his success.

Flames linemate Johnny Gaudreau: “He’s a smart player who can find the open areas and works extra hard and it’s easy to play with players who play like that.”

Flames play-by-play announcer Derek Wills: “I saw Josh play a lot for the Abbotsford Heat last year when I was with the Hamilton Bulldogs and he really didn’t stand out to me in a positive or a negative way. He was a good player but not one I’d expect to be playing in the NHL, let alone playing almost 20 per game with the Flames.”

So what changed? Jooris says he resisted the temptation to relax in the off-season.

Jooris: “I do a lot of sacrifice in the summer, make sure I’m ready to go come training camp time and having that year in the AHL really helped me.”

Undrafted as a junior, and as a pro Josh Jooris is the rookie sensation no one saw coming.