Neil Francis

• Title: Bench Coach
• Place of Birth: Cardiff, Wales
• Years with Devils: 20
• Last Club: N/A
• Twitter: @cardiffdevils

Profile

As Bench Coach, "Franny"s role on match nights includes executing the strategy deployed by Head Coach Gerad Adams and co-ordinating the team line changes to allow Gerad to focus on playing. His off-ice position ensures that the team receives ongoing and objective feedback throughout the games.  Franny’s other primary responsibilities lie in assisting Coach Adams in player recruitment and the planning and delivery of training sessions.

A Devils player for his entire professional hockey career, Cardiff-born Franny joined the team back in 1992-3. After competing on the ice with the team for fourteen seasons, during which time the Devils became the first British team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Europa Cup, Franny first stepped up on top of the bench towards the end of the 2008-9 season whilst he was sitting out an injury.

Having almost always combined his hockey career with his career in Finance, Franny uses his knowledge and experience of time spent as a gritty forward by also setting the team an example of hard work and pure dedication.

Away from the rink, Franny enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters.