COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey announced today that Zack Friedli (Rochester, Minn.) has been named the 15th recipient of the prestigious Brian Fishman Internship. Friedli's experience will include 12 months in the communications division at USA Hockey’s national office in Colorado Springs, Colo., beginning in June, with the second 12 months of the internship spent in the communications department at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Brian Fishman Internship is awarded annually to an outstanding college graduate pursuing a career in athletic communications. It was established in 1999 in honor of the late Brian Fishman, who served as the manager of communications and marketing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. He died unexpectedly on Jan. 7, 1999, at the age of 28.
“I cannot thank the Fishman family and USA Hockey enough for the amazing opportunity to work as the Brian Fishman Intern,” Friedli said. “I’m excited to begin this new journey and I hope I can honor Brian’s legacy by embodying the traits that he so clearly demonstrated during his life.”
Friedli’s responsibilities will include assisting with various communication projects, event promotions and publishing initiatives, including working with USA Hockey Magazine.
Friedli, who will graduate from the University of Minnesota Duluth this spring, currently works as an intern in the school’s sports information department. His duties include writing game recaps, player bios and press releases, aiding in media guide development and assisting in game day operations at UMD men’s ice hockey games.
Friedli has also spent the past two years as a writer with the Minnesota Hockey Hub, a website dedicated to high school hockey in Minnesota. The Rochester, Minn., native assisted in the development of the Hockey Hub’s preview packages, including preseason and state tournament guidebooks, along with the building and maintenance of team pages on the website.
Friedli previously worked with InsideHockey.com, where he was an editor and intern.
NOTES: Friedli will become the 15th Brian Fishman Intern. Previous Brian Fishman Interns include (most recent listed first): Brian Smith (Woburn, Mass./Boston College), Alex DiFilippo (East Tawas, Mich./Michigan State University), Caryn Switaj (Farmington Hills, Mich./Boston College), Matt Caracappa (Randolph, N.J./Penn State University), Carly Peters (Bloomington, Minn./Syracuse University), Chris Peters (Chicago, Ill./Iowa State University), Craig Stancher (Calumet, Mich./Michigan Tech University), Alex Clark (Glenview, Ill./Colgate University), Christy Jeffries (White Lake, Mich./Boston University), Caitlin Lazaro (Effingham, N.H./University of New Hampshire), Seth Cole (Blue Hill, Maine/St. Michael’s College), Yariv Amir (Plainsboro, N.J./Colgate University), Cassy Maxton (Vandalia, Ohio/Miami University) and Jennifer Dame (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Cloud State University).