American-Canadian ice hockey player
Ice hockey player
Francis Joseph Bouillon
(born October 17, 1975) is an American-Canadian former professional
ice hockey
defenseman
who played 14 seasons in the
National Hockey League
(NHL) for the
Montreal Canadiens
and
Nashville Predators
. He also played a season for
HC Ambri-Piotta
in the
National League A
(NLA), the top-tier league in Switzerland. He is currently a Development Coach for the Montreal Canadiens.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Bouillon was born in New York City to a
Haitian
father and a
French Canadian
mother. Bouillon moved to
Quebec City
,
Quebec
with his mother when he was only 3 years old.
[2]
He played
Junior
hockey in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
with the
Laval Titans
and the
Granby Predateurs
. He was Granby's captain when they won the
1996 Memorial Cup
.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Francis made his professional debut the
1996?97
season in the
ECHL
with the
Wheeling Nailers
and played the following season in the
IHL
with the
Quebec Rafales
before he was signed as a
free agent
to an NHL contract by the
Montreal Canadiens
in 1998.
He played the next 11 seasons, the majority of his career (except for a short stint with the Predators in
2002?03
) within the Canadiens organization. At 5'8" and 194 lbs,
[3]
Bouillon is considered small for an NHL defenseman but is never one to shy away from physical play. According to
Pierre Houde
, he is one of the strongest players in the
NHL
as shown by official physical tests.
[
citation needed
]
On September 30, 2009, just prior to the
2009?10
season, Bouillon was signed to a one-year contract as a late inclusion to the Nashville Predators after joining the team on a tryout for training camp.
[4]
In returning to the Predators after an initial four-game stint in 2002, Bouillon established himself within the Predators defense as a stay-at-home defenseman to appear in 81 games, missing only a single game, for 3 goals and 11 points. On June 18, 2010, he signed a two-year extension to remain with the Predators.
[5]
On July 1, 2012, Bouillon signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Montreal Canadiens. His play during that season earned him a one-year extension with the team. Following the 2013?14 season, the Canadiens declined to offer Bouillon a contract and on July 1, 2014, he became an unrestricted free agent. Bouillon attended the Canadiens' training camp for the
2014?15 season
on a tryout, but was released by the team on October 6, 2014.
[6]
On October 14, 2014, he signed with
HC Ambri-Piotta
in the Swiss
National League A
.
[7]
He announced his retirement on September 25, 2015.
[8]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Francis is separated from his wife Ginette with whom he has two sons, Michael and Anthony.
[9]
Bouillon resides in Montreal with his girlfriend.
Career statistics
[
edit
]
Regular season and playoffs
[
edit
]
International
[
edit
]
Year
|
Team
|
Event
|
Result
|
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
Pts
|
PIM
|
2003
|
United States
|
WC
|
13th
|
6
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
Senior totals
|
6
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Canadiens name Francis Bouillon player development coach"
.
Sportsnet
. July 5, 2017
. Retrieved
May 3,
2020
.
- ^
"Francis Bouillon signs on for extra year"
.
CTV Montreal
. March 21, 2013.
Archived
from the original on November 7, 2017
. Retrieved
March 11,
2014
.
- ^
"Francis Bouillon player page"
.
National Hockey League
. January 2, 2009
. Retrieved
March 15,
2020
.
- ^
Labbe, Richard (September 21, 2009).
"Bouillon a Nashville pour moins d'argent"
[Bouillon to Nashville for less money].
cyberpresse.ca
(in Canadian French). Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2009
. Retrieved
August 22,
2010
.
- ^
"Predators sign Bouillon to 2-year deal"
.
Nashville Predators
. June 18, 2010
. Retrieved
August 22,
2010
.
- ^
"Canadiens release defence veteran Francis Bouillon after pro tryout"
.
Globe and Mail
. Canadian Press. October 6, 2014.
- ^
"Free Agetn Bouillon signs in Switzerland"
.
rds.ca
(in French). October 14, 2014
. Retrieved
October 14,
2014
.
- ^
"Former Canadiens, Predators defenceman Bouillon retires"
.
ctvnews.ca
. September 25, 2015
. Retrieved
September 25,
2015
.
- ^
"Predators 2010 media guide"
(PDF)
.
Nashville Predators
. February 3, 2012
. Retrieved
February 3,
2012
.
External links
[
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]