The New Jersey Titans will skate into their 9th season when they take on the Rochester Jr Americans this weekend on the road to open the 2024-25 NAHL season. The 2022 Robertson Cup Champions will feature a new look, with the departures of Reece Brednich (Middlebury), Jake Geraci (Wesleyan), Riley Fitzgerald (Mercyhurst), Simon Becar (HK Dukla Trencin – Slovakia), Leo Schwartz (Brown), Zak Brice (Arizona State), Dominick Rivelli (UMass-Lowell), and Dominik Bartecko (Mercyhurst). Also departing via trade over the summer were Matt Henry to Oklahoma, Ethan Wongus to Maine, and Cooper Eberhardt and Kai Elkie to Elmira, all in exchange for draft picks and tenders.
Filling those holes in the lineup are a highly touted class of new players. From the 2024 NAHL Draft held last June, New Jersey acquired Blake Jones, Alex Papaspyropoulos, and Owen Leahy. Jones, already committed to AIC, is expected to contribute offensively to a blue line that features returners in Kyle Kim, Lucas Marshall, and Odin Ford. Leahy, who was previously drafted in the QMJHL, and Papaspyropoulos join a forward corps that includes two skaters returning for their third season of NAHL action in Ryan Novo and Johnny McMahon. The forward corps will look to replace the production of Rivelli and Bartecko, who combined for 63 goals and 68 assists last year. Both became the first Titans to eclipse 30 goals in a season, and Bartecko’s 83 points set a new franchise record. Princeton commit Nikita Meshcheryakov is the highest scoring returning forward, putting up 22 goals and 24 assists in 48 games. Sacred Heart bound Jack Hillier, Harvard commit Logan Renkowski, and Ryan Friedman are also expected to take the next step forward in their development.
With the graduation of Zak Brice, the franchise leader in wins and shutouts, the Titans will also feature a new look in the crease. Salisbury Prep product Austin McNicholas is expected to step into the starter’s role after featuring for the past two seasons with Chilliwack in the BCHL, where he put up a record of 33-23-5, with a 2.87 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. Will Baker and Charlie Mistretta will compete for time behind McNicholas, as the Titans enter the season without a returning goaltender for the first time since 2022.
Also entering its 9th season, the East Division of the NAHL has expanded again, welcoming the Elmira Aviators as the 10th team in the division. The Titans will begin the season with an 11 game road trip, with stops in six different cities before finally debuting on home ice on October 12th against Philadelphia. Included on the trip is the NAHL Showcase, billed as the “Greatest Show on Ice”, where the Titans will face off against a pair of teams from Alaska and the defending Robertson Cup champions Lone Star.
The Titans played two preseason games against the Danbury Jr Hat Tricks, dropping both games, including one in overtime. New Jersey will look to improve upon last season’s 35-22-3 record, finishing in 5th place. Clinching their 9th straight playoff appearance, the Titans swept the Johnstown Tomahawks in the East Division Quarterfinals before dropping three straight in the Semifinals to the Maryland Black Bears, who ultimately fell to Lone Star in the Robertson Cup Championship game.
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