Noel Fransen

November 2024 – With Farjestad having a very congested defensive core, Fransen was loaned out to Vasteras IK of HockeyAllsvenskan to get game time and continue his development. So far, he has been very good to start his season. In 15 games played, Fransen has one goal and seven assists for eight points, which currently leads all drafted defensemen. He has been asked to play top pair minutes and contribute on the power play, which Fransen has done and has looked really solid while doing it. Nick Bass

August 2024 – After putting up nearly a point-per-game and becoming the leading scoring defenseman at the HockeyAllsvensken level last season, Fransen is ready to leap to the next level. A smooth-skating defenseman, Fransen excels at moving the puck and creating chances, involving himself heavily in the offense. He’s not a slouch on defense either, as his high hockey IQ gives him leverage to know when the right time to pinch is. With this combination of skills with the bonus of being able to run a power play at a high level, Fransen has a good chance of sticking at the SHL level with Farjestad going into next year. Nick Bass

July 2024 – Being taken with the nicest pick in the draft, 69th overall, Fransen is a smooth-skating defenseman who has a very good transitional game. He has an innate ability to take the puck out of his own zone by himself and convert that into a scoring chance. Some concerns about his defensive game exist as he excels in defending one-on-one situations, but outside of that, Fransen tries too hard to make plays with solely his skating ability. His offensive game can be highly translatable and with some refinement in his defensive game, Fransen could be an NHL player in a year or two. Nick Bass

June 2024 – Fransen was selected 69th (nice) overall by the Blue Jackets. Pat Quinn

April 2024 – Stylistically similar to Alfons Freij, Noel Fransen has impressed us with his refined sense of space and timing on-puck, which in tandem with his plus-level mobility, handling, and passing gives him intriguing upside as a puck-moving defenseman. Offensively, he is a play-connector on the blueline and has shown – with increasing regularity – flashes of deceptive playmaking. These strengths would have him even higher on our board were it not for some of the off-puck growing pains. He has a tendency of crowding his puck-carrying teammates rather than stretching defensive structures, and his defensive game is more reactionary than it is controlled or prepared, with inconsistent defensive scanning and a fiction on the puck-carrier holding him back. The foundation for a creative puck-moving defenseman is here, but he will need to progress his off-puck habits and defensive consistency in order to threaten hitting his NHL upside. (April Rankings: #46) Sebastian High