On July 25, the Wolves announced that forward Dominic Franco had signed a contract to return to the team for the 2024-25 season. In ’23-24, the 28-year-old had four goals, eight assists and 90 penalty minutes in 56 games with the Wolves.
Just as important was Franco’s impact off the ice. The Class of 2020 graduate of West Point honored Military Families with his “Friends of Franco” program and earned the 2024 Dan Snyder Man of the Year Award.
We caught up with Franco while he was home in Rhode Island to discuss his best attributes as a player, living in Chicago and much more.
What do you believe are your best attributes as a player?
The biggest thing for me is I try to be one of the hardest workers out there. Always trying to be close to 100 percent effort-wise and execution-wise is big for me.
Obviously, I’m pretty a big body (6-5, 218) out there so I don’t shy away from the physical side of the game. I add a little bit of nastiness to a lineup and I think that’s very important, especially in the Central Division. There’s a lot of hard hockey in the league and it’s kind of allowed me to elevate my game to this level. It’s something I lean on and make sure I never lose.
How will you take your game to the next level?
I try to take things in a 10-game span and reflect on the good and the bad and see what needs to get worked on in extra reps after practice.
In a team sense, this will be my fifth year pro and I only have two playoff series under my belt so the biggest thing for me is I’m really looking to add to this team and hopefully compete for a championship. It’s not easy to get there and having been in playoffs in college and high school, that’s a part of hockey we fall in love with and the fans fall in love with. Doing the course of the season we do everything we can to make sure that come that time, we’re ready to go.
What do you like most about living in Chicago?
I love it. It’s a big city. There is a lot of culture and sports are a big aspect of the city. It’s fun during football season to everybody going nuts for the Bears and then the Cubs come around in the springtime. It’s just a very passionate sports town. Playing in the AHL sometimes it can be a struggle to get fans in the building but night in and night out, Allstate Arena is pretty full and we see a ton of familiar faces. It’s exciting to be able to get to know a lot of the fans. You get close to them and build a connection.
Now that you’ve had time to reflect, what are your thoughts on earning the Dan Snyder Award for Wolves Man of the Year?
That was for sure the most special moment of last season for me. Hearing about some of the past players who have won it and all the work that Dan did for Chicago made it really special to be honored with an award like that.
There are a ton of people in the Chicago area who can always use help and support or just have an excuse to come out and have a good time with their family watching hockey. I was happy to be a bit of a source of that for the Rosemont area and I look forward to building on that and hopefully it can be another great season to help connect with this fanbase.
What other fond memories do you have from last season?
My favorite stretch last year was around the turn of the new year when we popped off five straight wins. Those are the best times when the team is playing well—it’s great in the room when you’re winning. We were on a five-game road trip and went up to Manitoba in the middle of it. Those road trips can be challenging but when you’re doing well and winning they’re all the more fun. That was probably my favorite point on the ice last season.
I know you’re a big golfer. How are you hitting them?
The golf game is alright. Some good days, some bad days. There’s a good one in there somewhere and then every now and then it gets out of hand.
Part 1 of the conversation with Dominic Franco is here.
