Montreal Canadiens: Ryan Francis Signs Minor League Contract With Laval Rocket

The Montreal Canadiens got a head start on free agency which begins officially on Wednesday, by agreeing to terms with a minor league free agent today.

Ryan Francis, from Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia agreed to terms on a one year AHL only contract with the Laval Rocket for the upcoming 2022-23 season. This follows after Brandon Gignac and Xavier Simoneau who both signed AHL contracts with the organization for next season.

Francis is a 20 year old skilled winger who is coming off a strong performance at the Memorial Cup with the Saint John Sea Dogs. He helped the Sea Dogs win the tournament on home ice with six points in four games.

That came after Francis scored 25 goals and 65 points in 54 games during the regular season for Saint John. The 5’9″ and 170 pound winger was traded to the Sea Dogs from the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the 2020-21 season and he scored 50 points in just 33 games combined between the two teams that season.

Francis was a 5th round draft pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, but they chose not to sign him and he technically re-entered the draft last week, but went unselected. So, he became a 20 year old free agent and will now play next season in the Canadiens organization.

The Rocket could lose a few of their top scorers like Alex Belzile and J.S. Dea so it will be interesting to see how they fill those top line roles. Francis has the skill and offensively ability to possibly grab a top six role right away in Laval, but he will have to prove himself in training camp first.

He will get his first chance to show what he can do in front of the Canadiens coaches today, as he joins the Canadiens just in time for their development camp which is taking place this week in Brossard.

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