 francis joseph bouillon (born october 17, 1975) is a canadian-american professional hockey defenseman who is currently playing for hc ambrÃ¬-piotta in the national league a (nla), the top-tier league in switzerland. ==early life== bouillon was born in new york city to a haitian father and a french canadian mother. bouillon moved to quebec city, quebec with his mother when he was only 3 years old. he played junior hockey in the quebec major junior hockey league with the laval titans and the granby predateurs. he was granby's captain when they won the 1996 memorial cup. ==playing career== francis made his professional debut the 1996â97 season in the echl with the wheeling nailers and played the following season in the ihl with the quebec rafales before he was signed as a free agent to an nhl contract by the montreal canadiens in 1998. he played the next 11 seasons, the majority of his career (except for a short stint with the predators in 2002â03) within the canadiens organization. at 5'8" and 201&nbsp;lbs,  bouillon is considered small for an nhl defencemen but is never one to shy away from physical play. according to pierre houde, he is one of the strongest players in the nhl, according to official physical tests. on september 30, 2009, just prior to the 2009â10 season, bouillon was signed to a one-year contract as a late inclusion to the nashville predators after joining the team on a try-out for training camp.{{cite web| url = http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/hockey/200909/21/01-903961-bouillon-a-nashville-pour-moins-dargent.php | title = bouillon to nas
1975_births American_emigrants_to_Canada American_ice_hockey_defencemen American_people_of_French-Canadian_descent American_sportspeople_of_Haitian_descent Canadian_people_of_Haitian_descent Granby_PrA(c)dateurs_players Ice_hockey_people_from_New_York Ice_hockey_people_from_Quebec Laval_Titan_players Leksands_IF_players Living_people Memorial_Cup_winners Montreal_Canadiens_players Nashville_Predators_players Quebec_Citadelles_players Quebec_Rafales_players Roller_Hockey_International_players Sportspeople_from_New_York_City Sportspeople_from_Quebec_City Undrafted_National_Hockey_League_players Wheeling_Nailers_players