Francis Bouillon

Francis Bouillon (born October 17, 1975) is an American professional hockey defenseman for the Nashville Predators in the National Hockey League. Nicknames in English for Francis include "Cube" or "Soupy" (as a reference to bouillon cubes), "Frank the Tank", and "Franky B". In French, people call him "le petit guerrier" which means "the little warrior", due to his physical intensity and his small stature.

Early life
Bouillon was born in New York City to a French-Canadian mother and a Haitian father. Bouillon moved to Quebec with his mother when he was only 3 years old. He played Junior hockey in the Quebec Junior Hockey League with the Laval Titans and the Granby Predateurs.

Playing career
Francis made his professional debut the 1996-97 season in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers and played the following season in the IHL with the Quebec Rafales before he was signed as a free agent to an NHL contract by the Montreal Canadiens in 1998.

He played the next 11 seasons, the majority of his career (except for a short stint with the Predators in 2002–03 within the Canadiens organization. At 5'8" and 201 lbs, Bouillon is considered small for an NHL defencemen but is never one to shy away from physical play. According to Pierre Houde, he is one of the strongest players in the NHL, according to official physical tests.

On September 30, 2009, just prior to the 2009–10 season, Bouillon was signed to a one-year contract as a late inclusion to the Nashville Predators after joining the team on a try-out for training camp. In returning to the Predators after an initial four game stint in 2002, Bouillon established himself within the Predators defense as a stay-at-home d-man to appear in 81 games, missing only a single game, for 3 goals and 11 points. On June 18, 2010, he signed a two-year extension to remain with the Predators.

Personal life
Francis is married to Ginette and has 2 sons; Michael and Anthony. Bouillon resides in Nashville with his family. He retains his US citizenship.