Seven years ago, Shea Weber was about as far from being in this photo as you can get.

Undersized. Undrafted by the WHL. Playing in Junior B in his hometown of Sicamous, B.C., two levels below major junior hockey and about as removed from the spotlight as possible. He was only 16, but by then, most future Norris Trophy winners are earning accolades, being scouted by NHL teams and playing with the national team.

Weber was just hoping to get taller.

"I was never overly big, probably average size, but all of a sudden I just had a growth spurt ... and it just kind of went from there," Weber said Sunday after playing in his first all-star game. "Kelowna [of the WHL] saw me at a tournament, enlisted me, and I got a chance."

His chance was with the Rockets, then one of the best teams in junior hockey, and that season he brought a physical edge without much offensive punch. A year after he spent a season in Junior B, Weber was drafted 49th overall by the Predators with what may turn out to be one of the best picks in the last decade.

Now, 206 games into his NHL career, the Norris Trophy talk is cropping up — and at 23, Weber doesn't look out of place among the best players in the NHL. He doesn't get nearly enough attention given the market he plays in, but Weber leads all defencemen in goals with 14 and is sixth in points and on pace for close to 60 this season.

"Just to look back on it, it's ... it's something I dreamt about," Weber said of his journey from Junior B to the all-star game. "I never really thought it would become reality.

"Now it's real and hopefully I can continue to improve and hopefully get back to more all-star games."

I asked him about the Norris Trophy talk down in Tennessee, and Weber chuckled.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess that's just part of the game. We've got to win games in Nashville and get our way back into the playoffs."

As for his numbers being through the roof so far, Weber knows exactly where that's coming from. He's always been productive in the NHL for a young blueliner, but now he's playing four more minutes a night than last year and is the go-to guy for a Predators team in need of one.

"I'm definitely getting more opportunities in different situations," he said. "That's helping with my confidence and my game."

Weber said he didn't have a highlight from all-star weekend, but he clearly enjoyed every minute of it and had his brother on hand from Sicamous to share in the experience. He said if he had to do one thing differently, it might have been to approach his second-place attempt in the hardest shot competition with a giant runup like Zdeno Chara had.

"I should have started from the far blueline," Weber said, laughing.

It may have been his first all-star game, but it won't be his last. Weber's already one of the elite defencemen in the game and only going to get better.