The Brantford Bulldogs have named Franky Palazzese as the organization’s new Director of Goaltending, General Manager Spencer Hyman announced Monday.
An OHL alumnus with 193 games under his belt, Palazzese suited up for Kingston, Kitchener, and Sudbury between 2009 and 2014.
His standout season came in 2013-14 with the Sudbury Wolves, where he started 60 of 68 games and posted a .916 save percentage, one of the best marks in the league.
Following his junior career, Palazzese turned professional, spending two seasons as the starting goaltender for the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers.
He helped lead the club to back-to-back playoff appearances and a trip to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2016.
His pro career also included time in the AHL with Binghamton, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Hamilton.
Transitioning into coaching in 2018-19, Palazzese joined the University of Toronto Varsity Blues before accepting the goaltending coach role with the Sarnia Sting, where he remained through 2025.
In addition to his OHL coaching experience, he founded the Franky Palazzese Goaltending School, earning recognition as one of Canada’s top goaltending mentors.
“I am very excited to be joining the Brantford Bulldogs,” said Palazzese.
“I want to thank Spencer Hyman and the Hyman family for entrusting me with their goaltending department. Brantford is a premier organization in the Ontario Hockey League and it’s a great honour to be joining their staff led by coach Jay McKee.”
He added, “I’m excited to work with current elite goaltenders Ryerson Leenders and David Egorov and help build a future stable of strong goaltending. I look forward to contributing to the goal of bringing an OHL Championship to Brantford.”
Palazzese will lead all goaltending development and scouting efforts for the Bulldogs.
