Byron Froese

Byron Froese (born March 12, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Froese was selected in the fourth round, 119th overall, by Chicago Blackhawks in the 2009 NHL entry draft. Froese has previously played for Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career On May 31, 2011, the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL signed Froese to a three-year entry-level contract. He split the majority of his contract between affiliates, the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League and the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.

In the final year of his entry-level deal with the Blackhawks in the 2013–14 season, he was reassigned from the IceHogs to Cincinnati Cyclones, where he largely contributed to their Kelly Cup final appearance with 25 points in 23 games. As a free agent from the Blackhawks, Froese opted to remain with the Cyclones, signing a one-year deal on August 14, 2014.

The Cyclones loaned Froese to the San Antonio Rampage to begin the 2014–15 season. After he was returned to Cincinnati, he was later loaned to the Toronto Marlies. In a successful stint with the Marlies, Froese was signed for the remainder of the season by the Marlies on January 7, 2015.

On July 3, 2015, Froese was signed by the Marlies parent affiliate, Toronto Maple Leafs, to a two-year contract. Early into the 2015–16 season, Froese received his first recall from the Marlies to the NHL on October 23, 2015. On the following day, Froese made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in a 5-3 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens. On December 19, 2015, Froese scored his first NHL goal against the Kings. Froese would finish the season with just 5 points in 56 games, but he earned high praise from both coach Mike Babcock and the media for his great defensive play.

In the 2016–17 season, on February 27, 2017, Froese was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with a conditional second round draft choice in 2017 in exchange for centre Brian Boyle.

On July 1, 2017, having left the Lightning as a free agent, Froese agreed to a two-year contract with Montreal Canadiens, with the final season of his deal played on a one-way basis. In the 2017–18 season, Froese was initially assigned to inaugural AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. As captain of the Rocket, he appeared in just 13 games with the club before he was recalled to the Canadiens on November 8, 2017. On December 22, 2017, Froese scored his first goal with the Canadiens against the Calgary Flames. Froese played out the remainder of the season with the Canadiens, notching career NHL highs with 3 goals and 11 points in 46 games.

In the following 2018–19 season, Froese was re-assigned to the Rocket and selected as captain. He scored 30 points through 46 games for the Rocket before he was traded by the Canadiens, alongside David Schlemko, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Dale Weise and Christian Folin on February 9, 2019.

On July 1, 2019, Froese signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Calgary Flames.

On July 13, 2022, Froese signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.

At the end his contracted tenure with the Golden Knights, Froese left as a free agent and signed his first contract abroad by agreeing to a one-year contract with Russian club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, on July 15, 2024. On May 21, 2025, Lokomotiv, with Froese in the lineup, defeated Traktor Chelyabinsk four games to one in the championship series and became the Gagarin Cup winner - for the first time in the club's history. A year later on the same day, Froese helped Lokomotiv win its second title in a row - this time they beat Ak Bars Kazan 4-2 in the Cup finals.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2008–09 Everett Silvertips WHL 72 19 38 57 30 5 0 3 3 4 2009–10 Everett Silvertips WHL 70 29 32 61 37 7 3 2 5 0 2010–11 Red Deer Rebels WHL 70 43 38 81 37 9 5 2 7 4 2011–12 Rockford IceHogs AHL 57 4 6 10 17 — — — — — 2011–12 Toledo Walleye ECHL 3 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 2012–13 Toledo Walleye ECHL 38 12 21 33 12 6 2 4 6 6 2012–13 Rockford IceHogs AHL 9 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 2013–14 Rockford IceHogs AHL 28 0 5 5 14 — — — — — 2013–14 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 25 11 10 21 20 23 8 17 25 20 2014–15 San Antonio Rampage AHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2014–15 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 17 8 16 24 14 — — — — — 2014–15 Toronto Marlies AHL 46 18 24 42 26 5 1 3 4 4 2015–16 Toronto Marlies AHL 4 3 0 3 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 56 2 3 5 16 — — — — — 2016–17 Toronto Marlies AHL 48 24 15 39 18 — — — — — 2016–17 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 2016–17 Syracuse Crunch AHL 6 3 4 7 4 22 6 7 13 8 2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2017–18 Laval Rocket AHL 13 3 8 11 6 — — — — — 2017–18 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 3 8 11 26 — — — — — 2018–19 Laval Rocket AHL 46 14 16 30 23 — — — — — 2018–19 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 24 7 7 14 28 — — — — — 2019–20 Stockton Heat AHL 46 19 23 42 44 — — — — — 2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 6 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2020–21 Stockton Heat AHL 15 4 1 5 8 — — — — — 2021–22 Stockton Heat AHL 55 20 17 37 46 13 1 9 10 10 2022–23 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 60 10 24 34 42 — — — — — 2022–23 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 9 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 2023–24 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 53 13 18 31 28 — — — — — 2023–24 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 16 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2024–25 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 61 17 16 33 22 19 4 4 8 11 2025–26 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 66 13 12 25 39 18 5 4 9 22 NHL totals 141 7 13 20 57 — — — — — KHL totals 127 30 28 58 61 37 9 8 17 33

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2009 Canada U18 4th 6 4 3 7 4 Junior totals 6 4 3 7 4

Awards and honours Award Year KHL Gagarin Cup champion 2025, 2026