BANKIE'S HOT TAKE #124 - MINOR LEAGUE HOCKEY RETURNS TO TRENTON
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
I remember in the mid-2000s, New Jersey was Devils crazy, especially in the Mean Streets of South River.
Coming off three Stanley Cups in a decade, everyone adored hockey in town. In fact, at Bissets Pond, the road leading into the park was renamed NJ Devils Way, and the basketball court became the de facto “rink” for South River’s street hockey team, brought to the world by the South River Recreation department.
Unlike everyone else in town, I was against the grain. I was a New York Islanders fan. The era of Ziggy Palffy, Brian Bedard, Alexei Yashin, and the legendary Rick DiPietro. Looking back, it was a step too far.
I faded out from watching hockey regularly following the NHL Lockout cancelling the 2005-2006 season, and barely paid attention to the sport anymore.
During the pandemic, I fell in love with the sport again, thanks to Ken Carrera’s repeated insistence on me learning about the history of the New Jersey Devils. Watching old Devils games, as well as admiring Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s wild ride to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, got me back into it.
So when I learned that Trenton was bringing back minor league hockey in 2026 as a part of the ECHL, I was stoked.
It had been thirteen years since the Trenton Titans ceased operations. Forming in 1999 after being granted an expansion by the ECHL three years earlier, the Titans played initially in the Sovereign Bank Arena, which was later renamed the CURE Insurance Arena in 2009.
The Titans were an NHL affiliate for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, the Islanders, and the Devils. In fact, in 2006, the Devils actually purchased the Titans to be their official affiliate, alienating Flyers fans who had embraced them from its inception. After a four year run as the Trenton Devils, the Titans name returned in 2011, but by 2013, the team ceased operations due to low attendance and financial woes.
Two men most synonymously linked to the Titans were Scott Bertoli and Bruce Cassidy.
Bertoli, a product from Princeton University, played his entire ECHL run with the franchise from 1999 to 2007. He ended his career with 182 goals, 345 assists, and 527 points, on top of 630 penalty minutes and a Kelly Cup for his efforts. On February 21, 2009, the Trenton Devils honored Bertoli with his #19 hanging from the rafters. He was the only player to have his number retired. In fact, he was the Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the Titans until the franchise folded.
Bruce Cassidy began his coaching career with the Titans for their inaugural season in 1999, going 37-29-4 and pushing the team to the conference finals. He wound up going into the NHL a few years later, and won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
On September 9, 2025, the Utah Grizzlies, a minor-league franchise, were sold to Pro Players Partners, LLC, a Delaware-based company, and subsequently announced that the franchise would be relocating to Trenton for the 2026-2027 ECHL season. They would take up residence in the CURE Insurance Arena.
After a few months, the team settled on the name Ironhawks, due to “the hawk [symbolizing] strength and spirit, while the iron industry and its workers remain vital to Trenton’s economy through their grit and determination,” stated Team President Bob Ohrablo on January 13.
Earlier today, the team announced that they would be one of the official NHL affiliates for the New York Islanders. I was stunned.
It was like some sort of childhood flashback
For this type of feedback, I reached out to the biggest Islander fan I know: Ricky Richards.
“Yeah man I think it’s really cool, because Bridgeport just lost the AHL Team, so it’s nice to have a new Minor League team in the area,” stated “the Warhammer” in a direct message. “It also helps open the door to people in Jersey to get into the Isles Fan Pipeline who have maybe been priced out by the NHL teams in Philly and Jersey.”
It’s actually a very valid point. With ticket prices never higher in the NHL, especially being in the vicinity of Madison Square Garden, the Prudential Center, and the Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Ironhawks have a chance to provide quality hockey for families to attend. Also, the CURE Insurance Arena is very easy to get to from anywhere in NJ, as well as Philadelphia.
Also, to Ricky’s point, the Islanders have a bright future ahead of them, especially with the budding superstardom of Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer, who is a generational talent. The Ironhawks will be a lifeline to the future of Long Island hockey.
Regardless, I love having a hockey option closer to home. I really hope that Jersey and Philly residents turn out for the Ironhawks and help lay the foundation for ECHL hockey to stick around for years to come.
Lastly, maybe it will continue a hockey resurgence in the Garden State and bring it back to how it was for my hometown in the mid-2000s, complete with street hockey.
We can only hope.
Bankie Bruce
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