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Back to News FRANKLIN MACDONALD OFF TO AUSTRIA SYDNEY, NS, July 31, 2009 - After three seasons a step below the NHL, Sydney's Franklin MacDonald has decided just days before the opening of his new team's training camp to join the Liwest Black Wings in Linz, Austria.  A former defenceman with the Truro Bearcats in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League during the 2002-03 season and Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for three seasons following, the 24 year-old MacDonald might be called a late bloomer. He was not drafted either into the QMJHL or the pros.  He attended the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL training camp in 2002 but failed to make the team. He tried the Mooseheads the following season and while he made the team only saw limited action. He continued to grow and develop in his role as a major junior defenceman and became the team's top D in his final season, 2005-06.  Undrafted he was signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers. In 2006-07 he dressed for 56 games with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and 11 with Rochester Americans of the AHL. The following season those numbers were almost reversed as he spent 11 games with the Everblades and 51 with the Americans. Last season he played in 61 games for the Americans.  He scored two goals and assisted on 23 others in his three seasons with the Americans. He accumulated 89 minutes in penalties.  Hockey Future.com says MacDonald’s most noticeable attribute is his shifty footwork.  "MacDonald is a quick skater who likes to jump into the rush, and has also got good offensive instincts. He was able to develop these skills in his last year of junior, when he was pressed into a more offensive role", it says. "He had been more known as a defensive defenseman with a bit of a physical presence in his first couple years, and the more rounded game played an important role in his being signed by the Panthers." It sums him up as a steady defenceman who makes very few mistakes in coverage and is sufficiently physical.