Cody Franson

Cody Franson

Born	(1987-08-08) August 8, 1987 Sicamous, British Columbia, Canada
Height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight	213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position	Defenceman
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Buffalo Sabres Nashville Predators Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft	79th overall, 2005 Nashville Predators
Playing career	2007–present

Cody Franson (born August 8, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman currently with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Franson was drafted in the third round, 79th overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011 as a free agent, before eventually returning to Nashville via a trade on February 15, 2015.

Playing career

Minor

Franson played minor hockey for the Sicamous Eagles in Sicamous, British Columbia. During the 2003–04 season, Franson played junior 'B' hockey with the Beaver Valley Nitehawks, a team based out of Fruitvale, British Columbia, in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The Nitehawks won the KIJHL championship the year Franson played on the team.^[1]

Junior

Franson went undrafted in the 2002 WHL Bantam Draft. Nevertheless, the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL) offered him a tryout and Franson was successful in making the team.^[2] He played full-time for the Giants starting in the 2004–05 season, where he put up 13 points. Franson then improved to 55- and 51-point campaigns with the Giants in the next two seasons, respectively. In 2006, he helped lead the Giants to the President's Cup as WHL champions, earning a berth in the 2006 Memorial Cup. He then recorded the only hat-trick of the tournament and led all defencemen in scoring, with five points in five games. In the subsequent off-season, Franson signed an entry-level contract with the Predators in July 2006, the organization that drafted him in the third round, 79th overall, in 2005.^[3] The next year, he was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team^[4] and was nominated for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the League's top defenceman, although the Trophy was ultimately awarded to Kris Russell of the Medicine Hat Tigers.^[5] After falling to Medicine Hat in the 2007 WHL Final, Franson and the Giants captured the 2007 Memorial Cup as tournament hosts, defeating the Tigers in the final.

Professional

In the 2007–08 season, Franson turned professional and was assigned to the Predators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. He tallied 36 points in his rookie season in Milwaukee.

On October 17, 2009, Franson played in his first NHL game against the Washington Capitals, notching a single shot on goal.^[6] Later that week, on October 22, Franson scored his first career NHL goal against Pascal Leclaire of the Ottawa Senators.

On July 3, 2011, Franson, along with forward Matthew Lombardi, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Brett Lebda and Robert Slaney.^[7] During the subsequent 2011–12 season, Franson played 57 games for the Maple Leafs, scoring 21 points and finishing with a plus-minus rating of –1.

On October 1, 2012, Franson signed a contract with Brynäs IF of the Swedish Elitserien due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout. On January 13, 2013, he signed a one-year contract with Toronto as a restricted free agent. On May 13, Franson scored two goals for the Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins, a game Toronto eventually lost 5–4 in overtime.

On July 21, 2014, Franson and the Maple Leafs agreed to a one-year contract extension worth $3.3 million.^[8] On February 15, 2015, Franson was traded back to the Nashville Predators, along with Mike Santorelli, in exchange for Olli Jokinen, Brendan Leipsic and a first-round draft pick.^[9] This marked both Santorelli's and Franson's second tenure with Nashville.

Despite being ranked as one of the top free agents available during the offseason, Franson did not sign a contract until September 10, 2015 when he inked a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres worth $6.6 million total.^[10]

International play


Medal record

Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	2007 Sweden

Franson was a part of Canada'S 2007 World Junior Championship gold medal-winning team in Sweden.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	Vancouver Giants	WHL	3	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Trail Smoke Eaters	BCHL	2	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Vancouver Giants	WHL	2	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Vancouver Giants	WHL	64	2	11	13	44	4	0	1	1	0
2005–06	Vancouver Giants	WHL	71	15	40	55	61	18	5	15	20	12
2006–07	Vancouver Giants	WHL	59	17	34	51	88	19	3	4	7	10
2007–08	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL	76	11	25	36	40	6	0	2	2	2
2008–09	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL	76	11	41	52	47	11	3	5	8	8
2009–10	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL	6	2	5	7	4	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Nashville Predators	NHL	61	6	15	21	16	4	0	1	1	2
2010–11	Nashville Predators	NHL	80	8	21	29	30	12	1	5	6	0
2011–12	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	57	5	16	21	22	—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Brynäs IF	SEL	26	3	4	7	10	—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	45	4	25	29	8	7	3	3	6	0
2013–14	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	79	5	28	33	30	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	55	6	26	32	26	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Nashville Predators	NHL	23	1	3	4	2	5	0	2	2	0
2015–16	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	59	4	13	17	26	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			459	39	147	186	160	28	4	11	15	2

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007	Canada	WJC	01 !		6	0	2	2	2
Junior totals					6	0	2	2	2

Awards

Won an Ed Chynoweth Cup (WHL champions) with the Vancouver Giants in 2006.
Won a World Junior gold medal with Team Canada in 2007.
Nominated for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (Top WHL Defenceman) in 2007.
Named to the WHL West First All-Star Team in 2007.
Won a Memorial Cup with the Vancouver Giants in 2007.

References

↑ "Cody Franson". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
↑ "Player Alumni - Giants in the NHL". VancouverGiants.com. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
↑ "Predators sign defenseman Franson". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2006.
↑ "WHL Announces 2006-07 All-Star Teams". Western Hockey League. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
↑ "WHL Announces 2006-07 Award Finalists". Western Hockey League. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
↑ "OVECHKIN NETS TWO GOALS, THEN SCORES OT WINNER VS. PREDATORS". TSN. 2009-10-18. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
↑ "Leafs acquire Lombardi and Franson in swap". NHL.com. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
↑ Fitz-Gerald, Sean (21 July 2014). "Toronto Maple Leafs sign defenceman Cody Franson to one-year deal". National Post. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
↑ "Leafs trade Santorelli, Franson to Predators". MapleLeafsHotStove.com. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
↑ "Sabres sign Franson". Buffalo Sabres. 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-09-10.

External links

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