The Adirondack Thunder have been busy this season, adding six new faces to their roster, but so far, the biggest new signing has to be Ryan Francis. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native began playing hockey the same way most Canadian kids do, as his dad gave him a hockey stick and a pair of hockey skates when he was about three or four years old.
Prior to going pro, Francis spent four years at the QMJHL level, playing in 269 games while putting up 86 goals and 167 assists for 253 points while spending time with the Cape Breton Eagles and Saint John’s Sea Dogs. He would be drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, then, in 2022, he would be a part of a Sea Dogs team that became just the 11th team to host the Memorial Cup and win it in the same season.
“Definitely one of the cooler moments of my life for sure, I’ll definitely remember that last game for a long time. Same thing as the draft, I had a lot of family and friends there watching the game, and we had the home crowd behind us, it was a really cool moment, and it was pretty special at the end of the game when we had the whole crowd, I’ll definitely remember that moment for sure.
-Francis on winning the Memorial Cup with the Saint John’s Sea Dogs
Over the course of his pro career, Francis has played in 88 games at the ECHL level, putting up 32 goals and 36 assists for 68 points while playing for the Trois-Rivieres Lions and Greenville Swamp Rabbits. He’s also played in 27 games at the AHL level with the Stockton Heat and Ontario Reign, putting up a goal and two assists for three points. One thing that won’t change for Francis is that he will once again be playing in a “smaller” market, which is something he has done throughout his entire career.
“It’s awesome, going back to Juniors, I’ve always played in small towns my whole career and had really close fan bases. They really get to know the players, they really wanna see us succeed and it’s awesome to have a tight-knit community that really pushes for your team and wants to see success.
-Francis on playing in smaller markets over the course of his career
There’s no question that playing at the Cool Insuring Arena can have advantages and disadvantages, as the crowd has always been behind this team during the good and bad times. Francis is one of only two new faces joining Kurt Gosselin, who have experienced the wrath that Section N brings night in and night out on opposing teams. Luckily for Francis and Gosselin, they will get to experience more of the positive energy that Section N and the rest of Cool Insuring Arena has to offer next season.
“It’s definitely nice. There were some long nights on the road having them heckle you for 60 minutes, and it will be good to have them on our side, and it’ll be good to have the arena vibing.”
-Francis on being able to join the Thunder as a member of the home team after playing there as an opponent
Francis and the Thunder will once again play a pre-season home and home series vs Reading Royals on October 11th and 12th before beginning the regular season on the road for a rematch of the North Division Finals with two games vs Norfolk Admirals on October 18th and 19th
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