The New Jersey Titans are proud to announce forward Dominik Bartecko has been named a Finalist for the North American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player in the 2023-24 season.
Acquired from Amarillo last season, Bartecko rewrote the New Jersey Titans’ record books this season with 31 goals, 52 assists, and 83 points. All three marks set new franchise highs, beating Michael Young’s 29 goals last season, Ryan Naumovski’s 43 assists in 2019, and Mitch Machlitt’s 62 points in the shortened 2020 season. The Mercyhurst commit’s offensive output did not go unnoticed, as Bartecko was named the Bauer Hockey East Division 1st Star of the Week three times, and the 2nd Star four times this season. The recognition of Bartecko’s dominance culminated by being named the NAHL Forward of the Month in March, where he recorded 9 goals and 15 assists in 10 games played, helping to propel New Jersey into playoff positioning. Bartecko also goes down in Titans’ history as the fastest player to record 100 points in Middletown, ending with 122 points in 99 regular season games.
“Dom had such a special final season in New Jersey,” said Head Coach and General Manager Craig Doremus. He continued, “From day one of this season he knew he was going to have a lot of pressure and expectations on him to lead our team offensively. Not only did he not shy away from that responsibility, he embraced it. He was the rare case of a 20 year old greatly improving during the season, getting better and better every month. As he improved, he gained more and more confidence in both himself and his teammates, and the results were there to back it up.”
Doremus added, “As a coach, it’s my great privilege to watch a young man grow, prosper, and quite frankly dominate his opponents. Dom is a special young man, and I am so excited to watch him continue to improve during his time playing college hockey. Mercyhurst has a great person and hockey player arriving on campus, and they will be very fortunate to be able to work with him over the next phase of his career. We are so proud of Dom on this achievement. We wish him and the entire Bartecko family nothing but continued success moving forward. His impact and legacy in Middletown will last for many, many years.”
The North American Hockey League will announce the winner at their annual Awards Show, scheduled for June 11th at 4:00pm. The show will be available to watch for free on NAtv.