Austin, Minnesota team conditionally approved

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced that the league's Board of Governors has voted to grant conditional approval for an expansion membership to Craig Patrick.

The club will begin play in the 2010-11 season and play its home games at Riverside Arena in Austin, Minn.

The membership is conditioned upon on the prospective ownership presenting league-required documents to the NAHL office in order to complete the expansion application process. The club may begin operations once all necessary documents are received in an acceptable form.

Patrick has been involved in hockey as a player, coach and parent for much of his life.

“I’m excited to be involved with the NAHL,” said Patrick.  “It’s a great league with a strong tradition of moving kids onto Division I hockey and beyond.

“Bringing the NAHL to Austin will be a big boost for the city. We’re going to put on a great show, both on and off the ice.”

The North American Hockey League, the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II Junior A league boasting 23 teams from across the country, prides itself on the social maturity and skill development of student-athletes ages 16-20 with aspirations of advancing to collegiate and/or professional hockey.