In sporting vernacular, the acquisition by the City of Greater Sudbury of new CAO Shari Lichterman in March of 2025 was something of a multi-player transaction.
While it has been well-document that Shari brings with her a wealth of knowledge on the sport and recreation side of the equation, serving as VP of eastern operations for Canlan Sport among other roles, that is only half the story.
A native of St Louis Park, just outside Minneapolis, her husband (Dan) is also heavily immersed in the world of sports, the proud parents of two young adult children having met at a hockey facility in Richmond, Virginia.
Since not long after his arrival in Sudbury in 2025, Dan Lichterman has found himself lending a helping hand to the folks at Northern Hockey Academy – for very good reason. A former head coach with the University of Maine women’s hockey team, Lichterman also boasts an extensive background in skill development, a pursuit that only grew upon making the acquaintance of Tim Turk (hockey shooting specialist) in the GTA in the past decade or so.
Ironically, his knowledge of that cottage industry in the youth competitive hockey ranks that grew exponentially in the past twenty years is also fodder for some very interesting discussion regarding the current state of the sport that he loves.
“It’s now honestly to a point where there is, at times, too much dependency on skill and not enough on hockey IQ, understanding the game,” said Lichterman over the course of a highly engaging hour long conversation at a local coffee establishment. “Hockey has become an individual sport that you happen to play with five other guys.”
“Some of these kids are so good that they always have the puck when they are young and don’t have to learn how to play without it.”
While Lichterman’s name does not appear in any NHL registry or pro hockey statsbook, the 53 year-old who also coached with both the Chicago Freeze (NAHL) and the Toronto entry in the CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey League) in 2010-2011, with Sudbury native Tessa Bonhomme on his roster, has most certainly enjoyed a full life of hockey.
The son of a high-school teacher who had joined forces with some members of the Minnesota North Stars, offering hockey camps in that area almost a half-century ago (including working closely with the late Steve Jensen and the well-established Heartland Hockey Camp family), the young Lichterman virtually lived in the rinks.
He would go on to play Division III NCAA hockey with the University of St Thomas Tommies (again, just outside of Minneapolis) when injuries curtailed his plans after year two. “I loved my college experience, both from an academic and athletic standpoint,” said Lichterman. “I think the hockey experience helped push me into coaching.”
“I was fortunate enough that as I was finishing my schooling, I was able to shift into coaching at the high-school my dad taught at.”
Though a move to the Washington (DC) area may have led to love and marriage, it was the inclusion of women's hockey in the Winter Olympics, beginning in 1998 in Nagano, that opened a whole new world of professional opportunities for Lichterman.
Kicking things off with an adult women's team in the Washington - Richmond corridor, one which attracted the interest of Olympian and now long-time Boston College head coach Katie King-Crowley, Lichterman became truly engrained in the women’s hockey scene when the family veered back to the west, settling in Chicago.
"It all started to get interwoven," said Lichterman. “With women’s hockey growing, I got to know the people with Hockey Illinois on the girls side.” And as is so often the case, crossed pathways would lead to opportunities, opening the door to Maine.
"I was the third head coach in four years - and we had three seniors on that team. You talk about a lesson in coaching and leadership. I thought we did a good job in getting some stability, building a foundation."
He would last three years with the Bears, but with Shari now hired by Canlan and stationed primarily out of Toronto, the raising of a young family was proving chaotic. Thankfully, even with the move to Canada, his resume would speak for itself.
With stops in the GTA that included the CWHL team, some time at Hill Academy and more grassroots level involvement with the Richmond Hill Hockey Association, Lichterman was adding even more depth to his knowledge, all while developing a very clear vision of how we wished to coach and how we liked to have the game played.
"At the higher levels of the game, you have to be able to play hockey and not just play stickhandle," he said.
With more than 31 years behind the bench, Lichterman is happy to share his accumulated hockey knowledge in Sudbury. And by all accounts, Sudbury coaches and players alike are more than happy to be on the receiving end of said knowledge.
