 He then recorded the only hat-trick of the tournament and led all defencemen in scoring, with five points in five games.In the subsequent off-season, Franson signed an entry-level contract with the Predators in July 2006, the organization that drafted him in the third round, 79th overall, in 2005.The next year, he was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team and was nominated for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the League's top defenceman, although the Trophy was ultimately awarded to Kris Russell of the Medicine Hat Tigers.