Noah Gregor: “I’ll probably stick with 73.”

Taking one step back helped Noah Gregor take two steps forward this year.

After four WHL seasons, Gregor made his professional debut for the San Jose Barracuda in April 2018. Naturally, the 2016 San Jose Sharks fourth-round pick thought he was about to embark on a full season of pro hockey in 2018-19.

The Sharks, however, had different ideas, sending Gregor back to juniors for his overage year.

“My goal that year was to play professionally with the Barracuda. I still think I probably could have. But getting sent back probably was the best thing for me,” Gregor told San Jose Hockey Now of his Age-21 campaign with the Prince Albert Raiders. “We ended up winning a championship, and I was a key player on that team. It helped with my confidence, carrying that momentum into training camp, having a good camp and start of the season and eventually earning that first call-up.”

That’s exactly what happened.

On October 4, 2019, Gregor made his regular season Barracuda debut. Two weeks later, he was making his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres. The next month, the speedy winger scored his first NHL goal.

All in all, it was a promising debut season for Gregor, who skated 7:11 in his first NHL game and 17:27 in the San Jose Sharks’ final game before the pause.

San Jose Hockey Now caught up with Gregor this afternoon. The 22-year-old told us his thoughts about changing his jersey number, his favorite Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau stories, something about former teammate Brayden Point that we don’t know, and what his goal song next year might be.

We also chatted more about his dad, Colin Gregor, who played for Roy Sommer in Richmond 25 years ago.

Gregor, on why he never told Sommer that RS had coached his Dad: "It just never really came up, I guess. I'd remember and I'd think, I probably should bring this up, and I just never did…It's funny how small the hockey world is." https://t.co/dpq2bvJaqi

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 14, 2019