Former Ottawa Senators draft choice joins Mariners
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
PORTLAND, ME – March 20, 2019 – The Mariners have signed goaltender Francois Brassard, the team announced on Wednesday. Brassard is a 2012 draft pick of the Ottawa Senators and recently finished up his collegiate career at Carleton University (USports).
A native of Gatineau, QC, the same hometown as Daniel Briere, Brassard started his junior hockey in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts. He was a workhorse for the Remparts, playing 58 and 54 games respectively over his last two seasons there (2012-13 and 13-14). He split his final season of juniors between the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and his hometown Gatineau Olympiques. In that season, he pulled off a remarkable feat: scoring two empty net goals, one with each team.
The 6’1, 172-pound netminder had a brief professional stint in 2015-16 with the Peoria Riverman in the SPHL. In five games there, he had a 2.33 GAA and a .903 SV%. Brassard decided to play college hockey at Carleton University (Ottawa) for three seasons, finishing the 2018-19 regular season with a 14-6-0 record in 22 games. He posted a 2.33 GAA and a .918 SV%. He also posted a 2.51 GAA in eight playoff games. Brassard has been a consistent playoff performer, appearing in the postseason in seven of his ten seasons of Midget, Junior, Collegiate, and Professional hockey.
Brassard joins Chris Nell on the Mariners current goaltending depth chart. Domenic Graham was released on Tuesday.
The Mariners will visit Worcester on Friday at 7:05 before hosting Manchester at 3:00 PM on Sunday. It’s Country Night presented by 99.9 The Wolf. The first 500 fans will get a bandanna and concert giveaways will be held during the game including Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, and Old Dominion. Tickets to can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com or by calling the Trusted Choice Box Office at 207-775-3458.
