Central Hockey League President Brad Treliving today announced the addition of Leon Friedrich to the CHL's Hockey Operations staff. Friedrich joins the CHL following five seasons as Coaching Assistant with the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars.
Prior to joining the Stars, Friedrich had earlier worked with the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and Hartford Whalers, and also served as Director of Communications for the East Coast Hockey League's Mobile Mysticks. "The Central Hockey League has a tremendous tradition and has continued to develop in recent seasons," said Friedrich. "I am very pleased to be part of the continuing growth and development of the CHL."
"We are excited to welcome Leon Friedrich to the Central Hockey League and feel his previous experiences with a number of National Hockey League organizations will lend itself very well to his new position within our hockey department," said Treliving. In addition to the hiring of Friedrich, Treliving today announced restructuring within the CHL management team. Leon Stickle, who was previously the CHL's Director of Officiating, takes over as Director of Hockey Operations, while former Director of Hockey Operations Duane Lewis has been named CHL Vice-President of Operations. In addition, Steve Cherwonak has been named CHL Vice-President of Communications.
"Leon Stickle has done a tremendous job in the development of our officiating staff over the years and we look for that to continue in his expanded role," said Treliving. "Both Steve Cherwonak and Duane Lewis have played an integral role in the development of our organization over the years. Today's announcement recognizes the significant past contributions from both of these gentlemen and the leadership that they will continue to provide into the future."
The 2002/2003 Central Hockey League season begins Thursday, October 17th, and concludes Sunday, March 16th of 2003. Each CHL club will play a 64 game schedule this season, totaling 512 regular season contests. CHL Training Camps can open as early as Monday, October 7th, with each club welcoming a maximum of 30 players. For a complete list of players currently signed, please visit the CHL on-line at www.centralhockeyleague.com
The CHL enjoyed a 16% attendance increase during the 2001/2002 regular season, and led all North American minor professional circuits with a per game average attendance of 4,356 in post-season play.