Byron Froese (born March 12, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Froese was selected in the fourth round, 119th overall, by Chicago Blackhawks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Froese has previously played for Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Byron Froese | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Froese with the Syracuse Crunch in 2017 | |||
| Born |
March 12, 1991 Winkler, Manitoba, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| KHL team Former teams |
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | ||
| NHL draft |
119th overall, 2009 Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Playing career
editOn May 31, 2011, the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL signed Froese to a three-year entry-level contract.[1] He split the majority of his contract between affiliates, the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League and the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.
In the final year of his entry-level deal with the Blackhawks in the 2013–14 season, he was reassigned from the IceHogs to Cincinnati Cyclones, where he largely contributed to their Kelly Cup final appearance with 25 points in 23 games. As a free agent from the Blackhawks, Froese opted to remain with the Cyclones, signing a one-year deal on August 14, 2014.[2]
The Cyclones loaned Froese to the San Antonio Rampage to begin the 2014–15 season. After he was returned to Cincinnati, he was later loaned to the Toronto Marlies. In a successful stint with the Marlies, Froese was signed for the remainder of the season by the Marlies on January 7, 2015.[3]
On July 3, 2015, Froese was signed by the Marlies parent affiliate, Toronto Maple Leafs, to a two-year contract.[4] Early into the 2015–16 season, Froese received his first recall from the Marlies to the NHL on October 23, 2015. On the following day, Froese made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in a 5-3 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens. On December 19, 2015, Froese scored his first NHL goal against the Kings.[5] Froese would finish the season with just 5 points in 56 games, but he earned high praise from both coach Mike Babcock and the media for his great defensive play.
In the 2016–17 season, on February 27, 2017, Froese was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with a conditional second round draft choice in 2017 in exchange for centre Brian Boyle.[6]
On July 1, 2017, having left the Lightning as a free agent, Froese agreed to a two-year contract with Montreal Canadiens, with the final season of his deal played on a one-way basis.[7] In the 2017–18 season, Froese was initially assigned to inaugural AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. As captain of the Rocket, he appeared in just 13 games with the club before he was recalled to the Canadiens on November 8, 2017.[8] On December 22, 2017, Froese scored his first goal with the Canadiens against the Calgary Flames.[9] Froese played out the remainder of the season with the Canadiens, notching career NHL highs with 3 goals and 11 points in 46 games.
In the following 2018–19 season, Froese was re-assigned to the Rocket and selected as captain.[10] He scored 30 points through 46 games for the Rocket before he was traded by the Canadiens, alongside David Schlemko, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Dale Weise and Christian Folin on February 9, 2019.[11]
On July 1, 2019, Froese signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Calgary Flames.[12]
On July 13, 2022, Froese signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.[13]
At the end his contracted tenure with the Golden Knights, Froese left as a free agent and signed his first contract abroad by agreeing to a one-year contract with Russian club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, on July 15, 2024.[14]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2008–09 | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 72 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 70 | 29 | 32 | 61 | 37 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 70 | 43 | 38 | 81 | 37 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 57 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Toledo Walleye | ECHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Toledo Walleye | ECHL | 38 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 25 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 20 | ||
| 2014–15 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 17 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 46 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 56 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 48 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 8 | ||
| 2016–17 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 13 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 46 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 24 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 46 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 15 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 55 | 20 | 17 | 37 | 46 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 2022–23 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 60 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 53 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 141 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Canada | U18 | 4th | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Blackhawks sign three prospects to contract". CBS Sports. May 31, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- ^ Cincinnati Cyclones (August 14, 2014). "Cyclones re-sign MacDonald, Froese". Facebook. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ Toronto Marlies (January 7, 2015). "Marlies have signed Byron Froese". Twitter. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ "Maple Leafs sign Byron Forese to two-year contract". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ "Canadiens stay perfect by defeating Maple Leafs". National Hockey League. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ "Bolts acquire Froese, 2nd round pick from Toronto for Boyle". Tampa Bay Lightning. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ "Canadiens agree to terms with Byron Froese on a two-year contract". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- ^ @RocketLaval (November 7, 2017). "@CanadiensMTL recalled forward Byron Froese from Laval tonight. Michael McCarron was loaned to the Rocket" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Froese scores first goal in 22 months as Canadiens beat Flames". sportsnet.ca. December 23, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ "Froese enters second season as Laval Rocket captain". Montreal Gazette. October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ^ "Flyers acquire David Schlemko, Byron Froese from Canadiens". Philadelphia Flyers. February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ "Flames sign Byron Froese". Calgary Flames. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- ^ "Golden Knights' Byron Froese: Joins Golden Knights". CBS. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ "Lokomotiv sign Canadian import Byron Froese" (in Russian). Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database