The ability to spend more time together off ice as the season started up left North American Hockey League commissioner and president Mark Frankenfeld feeling good about the state of the league.
For Frankenfeld, it started in August when he was able to bring together the league’s coaches as a group, something that was missed the past two seasons during adjustments to keep the league running in the height of the pandemic.
“We had a few years without coaches meetings and with several new faces we really needed to spend time and bring them up to speed,” Frankenfeld said.
As he looked around the room, Frankenfeld got a distinctly different feeling.
“We really have some experienced and successful coaches,” Frankenfeld said. “I realized how experienced our coaches were and how they’re operating an unbelievable hockey business to help players develop and advance to college.”
Frankenfeld described similar sentiments during a board meeting in conjunction with the early-season NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota.
“We have a lot of owners and operators that have been with us for a very long time,” Frankenfeld said. “The league is so stable. The ownership group is just fantastic and includes so much experience.
“The ownership group knows how to operate a hockey league that is about the players and developing them for their futures and for college.”
