"I've been skating for a long time," Norris said after the morning skate. "Maybe three or four weeks ago, I felt like I was getting a little bit closer. And then you've just got to take your confidence as it comes. … Once I kind of got my confidence back in my shoulder, it was just a matter of time before it connected in my brain. I feel good."
The 23-year-old center, who has missed 38 games, fell to the ice in pain after taking a face-off in a 6-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 22. It was the second straight season Norris has been out for considerable time with a shoulder injury; he missed 15 games in 2021-22.
"It's been a real tough go for him, mentally," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "Training as hard as he did, having the start that we had, and then he gets hurt. I mean, I think you remember him going down the tunnel and throwing his stick. And then, 'Is it going to be surgery? Is it not going to be surgery?' It's been a long time that he's worked on this, and there were times, probably, when he was tempted to come back a little earlier, but he had to be 100 percent in his own mind. And he's there now."
Norris will skate between Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux on the second line. As a precaution, Giroux will take most, if not all, of the face-offs. Norris doesn't know when he'll be back to taking face-offs full-time and said he's taking it "one day at a time."
Norris said Wednesday has been a set date "for a while now."
"I mean, there were some tough days, obviously," Norris said. "It's a long recovery. Some days you feel good and some days you don't. You have a good week and then you have not so great of a week. I think I was just trying to stay even-keeled and stay with it mentally. It was a long recovery. I had some really good teammates checking in on me and stuff, so I'm [grateful] for that."
Norris signed an eight-year, $63.6 million contract (average annual value $7.95 million) July 14, following NHL career highs in goals (35), assists (20) and points (55) in 66 games last season. Selected by the San Jose Sharks with the No. 19 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, he has two points (one goal, one assist) in five games this season and 92 points (53 goals, 39 assists) in 130 NHL games through four seasons with the Senators.
"We're going to be a different team with him," Smith said. "In saying that, it's going to take him a little bit to get going. No exhibition games to warm up with, right into a midseason game. But over the next few games, I think you'll see we're clearly going to be a different team with him."
Ottawa (19-21-3) is seventh in the Atlantic Division and 16-19-3 with Norris out of the lineup.
With Norris' return, rookie Shane Pinto will drop down and play with center Derick Brassard and Dylan Gambrell on the third line. That will allow Pinto to "develop properly," Smith said.
Norris was asked after practice Wednesday about potentially matching up against Penguins centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in his first game in nearly three months.
"Why not go up against some of the best players in the world in your first game back?" Norris said with a grin. "I'm excited for it."
