Steelheads bring back Franklin

Action photo of Zane Franklin of the Idaho Steelheads

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads, ECHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars, announced that the club has re-signed forward Zane Franklin to a contract for the 2023-24 season.

Franklin enters his third professional season, second with Idaho, after tallying 33 points (16g-17a) in 55 games last season along with four points (2g-2a) in 16 Kelly Cup Playoff games. The Marwayne, Alberta native was acquired by the Steelheads from the Reading Royals on Oct. 30 in exchange for future considerations.

The 24-year-old has accumulated 70 points (26g-40a) in 119 career ECHL games along with 119 penalty minutes. He led the Allen Americans in penalty minutes (125) during the 2020-21 campaign while recording 32 points (9g-23a) in 60 games. In 2021-22 he skated for the University of Saskatchewan, registering 26 points (6g-20a) in 20 games.

Before professional hockey, Franklin played parts of five seasons in the Western Hockey Leaguefrom 2015-20 splitting time with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kamloops Blazers accumulating 213 points (77g-136a) in 268 career games along with 329 penalty minutes. During the 2019-20 season he captained the Blazers leading the club in scoring with 91 points (29g-62a) in 63 games.