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Shea II? Comparing Franson and Weber

Predators' prospect Cody Franson may draw some unfair comparisons to Shea Weber, if he joins the Preds this year. The franchise defenseman is a tough standard for a young player, even one with Franson's promise. Still, some similarities are apparent: both players stand about 6' 3'', 200 pounds; each is considered a tough defender with good offensive skills. Weber is just two years older, so we can make a useful comparison of their performances to this point.

Star-divide

Franson to date:

Age Lge GP G A
17 WHL 64 2 11
18 WHL 71 15 40
19 WHL 59 17 34
20 AHL 76 11 25
21 AHL 76 11 41

 

And Weber at the same ages:

Age Lge GP G A
17 WHL 70 2 16
18 WHL 60 12 20
19 WHL 55 12 29
20 AHL 46 12 15
20 NHL 28 2 8
21 NHL 79 17 23

 

Shea had already experienced a phenomenal breakout season by Franson's age (21). Still, there are some interesting comparisons to be made in their minor league numbers. Franson had more goals at age 19 at the same level in nearly equal playing time was Weber. He also paced Weber in assists most years, although that's probably not as good of a predictor of future talent, since assists are more team-dependent than goals. The real difference lies in Weber's first AHL season, where he had a breakout 12 goals in just 46 games, leading to his callup. By contrast, Franson seems to have hit a wall in Milwaukee, improving his assists, but not his goals. One possible explanation is that Franson's skills  dominated the weaker competition without improving at the same rate as Shea's. Still, given his track record and previous success, Franson looks like a possible breakout candidate, or, at the very least, a good player to feed Weber's hard shots in Nashville.

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An interesting comparison

This season will be a big one for Franson, he should make the team out of training camp, unlike last year when he didn’t last as long as Sulzer. If those two can handle 3rd-pair work effectively this season, it would be a huge boost to the team.

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On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Jun 24, 2009 9:31 AM EDT reply actions  

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