Personnel
Mark Frankenfeld
President and Commissioner
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Mark Frankenfeld has served as the Commissioner and President of the North American Hockey League since 2007. As commissioner, his responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations and all business aspects of the league, including but not limited to expansion, marketing initiatives, rules & regulations and player development.
During Frankenfeld's tenure, the NAHL has stabilized into one of only two non-tuition-based premier developmental junior leagues in the country. During that span the league has not only grown, but expanded into markets that were once considered off limits for junior hockey. One of the biggest trends that has occurred under Frankenfeld's watch is NAHL teams emerging in former minor league hockey markets and becoming successful and stable.
Frankenfeld has laid the foundation for continued success, expanding the footprint of the league to 32 teams representing 20 states, allowing the league to continue to grow and truly become America's only 'National League' when it comes to junior hockey.
Frankenfeld, a member of USA Hockey's Junior Council, is also the driving force behind the NAHL Showcase, the creation of the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament and the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL), which is made up of Midget Major and Minor teams that compete at the Tier I youth level. Nine years ago, Frankenfeld played a vital role of the acquisition of the Central States Hockey League, which was redeveloped in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL).
All take advantage of the unique vertical exposure model set forth by Frankenfeld, in which players are showcased in a series of unique league-wide events designed to bring everyone together under one roof several times a season for enhanced exposure of players at all levels to junior and college scouts.
Prior to assuming his role as commissioner, the Wright State University graduate served as the league's director of hockey operations.
Behind the bench in the NAHL, Frankenfeld was the head coach of the Dayton Gems during the 2003-04 season and spent four seasons as assistant coach and assistant general manager for the Texas Tornado from 1999-03. He was also an assistant coach with the Cleveland Jr. Barons for one season. Prior to working in the NAHL, Frankenfeld gained valuable experience in the collegiate ranks, spending four years as an assistant coach with Miami University (NCHC) and one as an assistant with Buffalo State University (SUNYAC). Frankenfeld has also coached at the high school and Midget AAA levels, as well as at USA Hockey Select Festivals, giving him more than 20 years of coaching experience.
Frankenfeld and wife Kira have two daughters, Charlee and Bella and son Brody.
Craig Barnett
Director, NCAA Compliance and Education
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Craig Barnett provides NCAA Education and Compliance resources for the NAHL, NA3HL, and NAPHL. Barnett's experience and relationships in the college hockey world provides a unique perspective to coaches and players in the NAHL family of leagues looking to gain opportunities at the next level.
Barnett played college hockey at Plattsburgh (NY) State University in which he was a member of the 1987 NCAA Championship team. He was also named to their all-decade team (1985-1994) and was the university's Student-Athlete of the year in 1989.
Barnett then played professionally in the New York Ranger organization for two years before entering the coaching ranks. Barnett started the hockey program at the University of Findlay (OH) in 1995 and took that program from club status to the NCAA I level as a charter member of the CHA (College Hockey America).
In 2002, Barnett became the Hockey Director and Assistant Athletic Director at Lake Forest Academy, a prestigious boarding school on the north shore of Chicago. Barnett then became the Director of Athletics at Becker College in Worcester, MA where he was instrumental in starting their NCAA III hockey, football and lacrosse programs. Two years later, Barnett landed the Director of Athletics position at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA where he was responsible for 24 NCAA II varsity sports as well as their 2 NCAA I hockey programs.
In 2011, Barnett was named the Commissioner of the American Lacrosse Conference, a league who had won seven of the past nine NCAA I Championships before being absorbed by the Big Ten conference in 2014. This past year, Barnett became the Commissioner of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, a NCAA I/II league whose conference member Loyola University has won the past 2 NCAA Championships. Craig and his wife Andrea have three children, Olivia, Braeden and Jace.
Shannon Smith
Director, Finance and Administration
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Shannon Smith has served as the Director of Finance and Administration for the North American Hockey League since 2014. Smith also serves as the Event Coordinator and handles league merchandising.
Prior to joining the NAHL, Smith spent four years with the NAHL's Texas Tornado serving as the team's Director of Business Operations from 2009-13.
Prior to working for the Tornado, she spent twelve years with Skyview Satellite Networks where she served at the Director of Contract Services, managing commercial inventory in twenty-five programming products, including MLB, MRN, NBA, NFL and NHL radio broadcasts as well as two State News Radio Networks.
Smith graduated Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies. She has four children, Zachary, Madison, Hunter and Garrett.
Dennis Vickers
Director, Player Personnel
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Dennis Vickers joined the NAHL as the Director of Player Personnel on June 13, 2022 and will oversee all player personnel and scouting initiatives for the NAHL and NA3HL, in addition to being the Director of the NAPHL. After his playing career ended at Saint Mary's University in Minnesota, Vickers attended Miami (OH) University. At Miami University, Vickers served as a Graduate Assistant where he coached the ACHA team and worked closely with the team and staff of the NCAA Division I program. After going to back-to-back ACHA National Tournaments and completing his master's degree in Sport Behavior and Performance (Sport Psychology), he moved to Nashville to take over as Director of Hockey Operations for the Nashville Predators Youth Organization. Vickers is a USA Hockey Level IV coach and has coached every level from youth hockey to college. He has also worked a variety of USA Hockey National Select Camps and worked with USA Hockey's Youth Development staff.
Vinnie Perricelli
Director, Streaming and Broadcasting
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Vinnie Perricelli has provided the North American Hockey League (NAHL) family of leagues digital media content since 2017. He is responsible for all league-wide video based initiatives and shows, and serves as the host for Today in the NA, the 3 Show, and PHL 2 Nite.
Previously, Perricelli worked for the North Iowa Bulls of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) as their Digital Media Manager. In this role, Perricelli would create the team's digital content while managing the team's website and social media channels. He also served as the team's play-by-play broadcaster for select home games.
He graduated from Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in May 2014. Beginning his sophomore year, Perricelli managed the school's radio station and was the play-by-play voice for Waldorf's ACHA hockey team. He also played baseball for the Warriors during his time at the school.
Tyler Giwerowski
Manager, Hockey Operations
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On June 2, 2022, Tyler was selected as the second recipient of the Kim Cannon Internship. The Kim Cannon Internship was established back on June 2, 2021 by the NAHL, in cooperation with Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach and former NAHL head coach Jon Cooper and is intended for a recent college graduate interested in pursuing a career in sports. Giwerowski is originally from Bensalem, Pennsylvania. He is a 2022 graduate of Rider University located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey with a degree of Business in Sports Management and The Organization of Psychology. During his time at Rider, Giwerowski was employed as a Hockey Instructor with the Madison Square Garden Company within the Junior Rangers Program, and also served as an intern during the Summer of 2020 as a Student associate in the Fan Development department for the New York Rangers. In addition, Giwerowski was a member of the ACHA Division II Club Ice Hockey Team at Rider where he was the Public Relations Officer, Team Captain, and the Team President. He was also an Intern for the Metropolitan Riveters within the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) where he worked in Game Day Operations.
Christian Larson
Manager, Digital Media
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Christian Larson joined the NAHL team for the 2022-2023 season and serves as the Manager of Digital Media.
Previously, Christian served the role as Gameday Content Intern for the NAHL, with duties that include writing stories of player advancement, filming live coverage of NAHL events, and posting on social media.
Prior to the NAHL, Christian worked for Wave Sports + Entertainment as a content manager, creating and posting digital media content to social media channels.
Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications in the fall of 2021.
Tiffany Levesque
Manager, Administration
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Tiffany Levesque joined the NAHL staff during the 2022-23 season and will serve as the Manager of Administration.
Prior to joining the NAHL, Tiffany spent four seasons with the Maine Nordiques (NAHL) in conjunction with their home rink, The Colisee, as Director of Operations, located in Lewiston, ME. Tiffany started as an intern for the Nords in their inaugural season (2019-2020), working in game day operations and production. She was hired full time in October 2020. Tiffany’s role entailed, but not limited to, handling daily operations for the rink, game day operations for NAHL and Academy teams, broadcast production, representative for the Nords youth program, billet coordinator, scheduling, and marketing.
Tiffany graduated from the University of Hartford with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture.
Brittany Hart
Coordinator, Digital Media and Communications
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Brittany Hart joined the NAHL staff during the 2023-2024 season and will serve as the Coordinator of Digital Media and Communications.
Prior to the NAHL, Brittany spent 3 seasons with Lovell Hockey, a youth umbrella containing six organizations operating within Massachusetts. Brittany served as the Social Media Coordinator for all six organizations with her primary duties being graphic design, photography, website upkeep and content creation.
Brittany began working in the hockey industry back in 2017 as an intern with the Eastern Hockey League (EHL). Her role evolved from social media and game day operation, to the league's sole rinkside reporter and content creator.
Brittany graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in Strategic Communications.
Rob Martell
Director, Player Safety
Rob Martell was hired as the Director of Player Safety for the NA3HL on October 2, 2019.
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Martell moved to the United States in the early 1990's while working for the NHL in their Referee Trainee program beginning in 1987, which included the WHL, OHL, QMJHL, CCHA, ECHL, IHL and AHL. Hired full-time by the NHL in 1992, he continued to work in AHL and IHL working his first NHL game in Ottawa in 1996. Martell worked over 900 professional games, including two Turner Cup finals (1994 & 1996) and the IHL All-Star Game in Houston, Texas in 1996.
Martell then graduated to the NHL in 1999-00 and worked 1,004 career NHL games including the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta and NHL Premier Series games in Helsinki, Finland and Belfast, Ireland in 2010.
Following his retirement from the NHL in 2016, he joined the USA Hockey Officiating Development Program as an Officiating Coach covering SPHL, USHL, NAHL and NA3HL. Martell also has his USA Hockey Level 4 coaching certification.
Keith Kaval
Director, Officiating
Keith Kaval joined the NAHL the as Director of Officiating in the Summer of 2018. He was previously an on-ice official in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the last 12 seasons and worked over 700 games during that time span, including Calder Cup Playoffs.
Kaval had a very distinctive International career representing USA Hockey for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), where Keith worked six A pool championships earning four medal game assignments, including the 2011 World Junior Championship gold medal game in Buffalo, New York, and the 2014 World senior championships Gold medal game in Minsk, Belarus. Kaval also has the distinction of being the first and only American hired to referee full time in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) based in Russia.
Kaval also worked the 2010 Kelly Cup Final in the ECHL. Kaval has consistently worked with USA Hockey during the summer in a development role, coaching officials of various levels. He is quite familiar with the Officiating Development Program, as he graduated to professional hockey after the 2005 season.
Kaval began his junior hockey officiating career in the NAHL in 1999, and finished his journey working the 2004 Robertson Cup Championship final in Frisco, Texas. Kaval played youth and prep school hockey before solely focusing on his officiating career. Kaval's officiating stops included the NAHL, NA3HL, USHL, OHA, WHL, OHL, CHL, UHL, ECHL, Denmark, Hockey East, Atlantic Hockey, and the AHL.
Kendall Hanley
Manager, Officiating
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Kendall Hanley was named the full-time Manager of Officiating of the NAHL and Director of Officiating for the NAPHL in March, 2022.
Kendall's career began in 2007 during which she has officiated games at the local, district, national, professional, and international level. Her national experience spans NCAA DI and DIII (WCHA. MIAC, WIAC), Junior leagues (USHL, NAHL, NA3HL) and men's and women's professional hockey leagues (AHL, CWHL, PHF, PWHPA). On the international side, Hanley has officiated numerous tournaments around the world for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), including the 2019 U18 Women's World Championship in Slovakia (Bronze Medal Game), the 2021 Women's World Championship in Canada (Bronze Medal Game), and most recently the Women's Ice Hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China where she was selected to work the Gold Medal Game.
Hanley has broken down numerous barriers for women in the officiating world. She was the first woman to work at the NAHL Robertson Cup Championship, in addition to two NAHL Top Prospects Tournaments (2021, 2019). She was one of the first four female officials to work at an NHL Prospect Tournament (2019, Traverse City, Michigan), and was additionally selected to work the 2021 NHL Prospect Tournament in Tampa Bay. In December, she became the first female to officiate a professional hockey game in Wisconsin, as part of the AHL's first class of ten female officials. She was the first woman to earn the 2021 Ben Allison Award, given annually to an official in the USA Hockey Officiating Developmental Program, and in 2023, was the recipient of the annual USA Hockey Jamie Huntly-Park Award.
A Raleigh, North Carolina native, Hanley found her passion for officiating after completing her four-year NCAA playing career for the Elmira College Soaring Eagles and Oswego State Lakers. She currently resides in Minnesota.
Ian McCambridge
Coordinator, Officiating
On July 17, 2023 the North American Hockey League hired Ian McCambridge as Coordinator of Officials. Ian started officiating twenty-one years ago. The Indiana native has served as an on-ice official within the North American Hockey League since 2007 as both a referee and a linesman. Since then he has worked three Robertson Cup Finals and two Top Prospects Tournaments.
Ian's officiating career doesn't just stop within the North American Hockey League. Since then he has worked Division One Collegiate Hockey (Big Ten, CCHA), professional hockey (AHL, ECHL, SPHL), a world championship with the International Ice Hockey Federation, three NHL Rookie Tournaments, and the United States Hockey League where he was selected to work the 2015 Clark Cup Finals.
Ian has a passion for officiating as he still runs local referee seminars, assigns youth hockey referees, and helps mentor the next generation of officials on the local level.