Fransen signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in May 2026. His deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $990K and runs through the 2028-29 season.

Spending most of the 2024-25 season in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, Fransen put up 20 points in 50 games. That success as a 19 year old also got him ice time in three games at the SHL level during the playoffs, which is a sign that he’s got his coaches’ trust. He’s currently projected to start at the SHL level in 2025-26, which would be another good step in his development. The 69th overall pick in 2024 would appear to be headed towards the AHL within a few seasons, and if his offensive numbers continue improving as he climbs levels, he might just end up in the NHL before he turns 25.

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.

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.

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.

Fransen was selected 69th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes.

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)

Fransen totaled two points in 13 games for Farjestad BK (SHL) before being loaned to BIK Karlskoga (HockeyAllsvenskan). He recorded 14 points in 38 games in Sweden’s second division. Chris Babos