Zack Friedli was named head coach of Holy Family boys hockey on March 27, 2024.

During his first season in charge of the Fire, Friedli led the program to a Wright County Conference championship, the first playoff victory for the team since 2020-21, and the first section final appearance since 2018-19. The 20-win campaign was just the sixth in program history.

Before Holy Family, Friedli was the associate head coach at Chanhassen High School, helping lead the Storm to the program's first-ever Section 2AA championship and a runner-up finish at the 2024 MSHSL Boys State Hockey Tournament. While at Chanhassen, Friedli oversaw numerous systems, including a penalty kill unit that finished in the top-three in Class AA each season (1st - 2022-23 (93.3%) and 2023-24 (92.5%); 3rd - 2021-22 (90.3%)). In his three seasons with the Storm, the program compiled a 68-16-1 record, won the first playoff game in program history, and developed a Frank Brimsek Award winner, a Mr. Hockey finalist, and a Reed Larson finalist.

Prior to his stint at Chanhassen, Friedli served as the co-head coach of the Chaska/Chanhassen Bantam AA team, leading the squad to three Minnesota Hockey State Tournaments (2019, 2020, 2021), two Minnesota Hockey Region Championships (2020, 2021), and one District 6 title (2021).

The Rochester, MN native also coached the Minnesota Blades 15O team for three years (2020-23), spent time working as a scout with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, and coached various Minnesota Hockey HP and Tier 1 teams.

Friedli and his wife, Cassie, reside in Lakeville.

In 8 seasons, Coach Friedli has helped develop:

12 NHL Draft Picks | 8 USA Hockey NTDP Players | 35 NCAA Division 1 Players | 64 USHL Draft Picks

"Coach Z is very respected in the hockey community. He has an unbelievable understanding of developing players and building a winning hockey team. From experience, he has been one of the best coaches I’ve had in helping players get what they want and need to be better people and hockey players." - Sam Rinzel, Chicago Blackhawks

“I had Zack Friedli as my coach for two years and he has easily been my favorite coach. He knows just as much about the game as anyone else, even people who played professionally. I think what sets him apart is that he’s extremely passionate and puts a lot of time into helping players get better. He always made players excited to come to the rink” - Adam Kleber, University of Minnesota Duluth

"He is a great coach and even better person. He made coming to the rink exciting and fun everyday. He knows what he's talking about and he's someone I trust. He helped push me and my teammates everyday to try and better us." - Brodie Ziemer, University of Minnesota

"He is one of the few coaches I've ever had that continuously tried to make you a better player everyday for the betterment of the team. He cares about you as a person. He's the first coach that broke the game down for me at a different level. Former teammates and myself still to this day talk about Coach Friedli and the way he thought the game. It was an unbelievable experience to come to the rink everyday and play for him." - Max Burkholder, Colorado College

“He knows the ins and outs of hockey. He is fully committed to the team, and he is fun to be around. Coach pushed me to be my best and always had the team’s best interests in mind.” - Gavin Uhlenkamp, 2024 Mr. Hockey Finalist and University of Wisconsin commit