Friesen played his junior years with the
Regina Pats of the
Western Hockey League (WHL) where he was Rookie of the Year in 1993. He was selected 11th overall in the first round of the
1994 NHL entry draft by the
San Jose Sharks. He played 14 season in the NHL as a winger, originally as a left winger but also as a right winger. Friesen played nearly seven seasons with the Sharks, becoming their 3rd all-time leading scorer, but was traded to the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim near the end of the
2000–01 season. After playing the following season with the Ducks, he was traded to the
New Jersey Devils for the
2002–03 season where he won the
Stanley Cup. In the
Eastern Conference Finals against the
Ottawa Senators that year, Friesen scored the game-winning goal with just under three minutes left in regulation in game seven. It was his third game-winning goal of the series. Then in game seven of the finals, he scored two goals against his former team, the Ducks en route to the Devils' third Stanley Cup championship. On September 26, 2005, the
salary cap-troubled Devils traded Friesen to the
Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional
2006 draft pick. On March 9, 2006, he was moved again to the Ducks for a second-round draft pick, but spent a significant part of the
2005–06 season sidelined with a groin injury. Friesen was signed by the
Calgary Flames on July 5, 2006 to a 1-year $1.6 million contract for the
2006–07 season. After a disappointing season that had Friesen producing six goals and six assists in seventy-two games, the
Calgary Flames chose not to re-sign him. He played in the AHL as a left wing for the
Lake Erie Monsters before January 29, 2008, when Friesen was released. Friesen attended the San Jose Sharks' 2008 training camp on a tryout basis. On October 9, 2008, Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced that Friesen had been released from training camp. On August 29, 2009, Friesen signed a one-year contract with the
Eisbären Berlin of the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Friesen is tied with
Jamie Baker for the Sharks single-season short-handed goals record with 6, set in the
1997–98 season. On February 21, 2015 he was introduced along with several other former Shark players before the outdoor Stadium Series game vs. the L.A. Kings at
Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. ==Personal life==