On Wednesday, the New York Islanders were announced as the new NHL affiliate of the Trenton Ironhawks. The Ironhawks are gearing up for their inaugural season in New Jersey’s capital city as minor league hockey returns to the Garden State. The Ironhawks had their schedule released to the public the week prior. Having an additional professional team in the Garden State is sure to be a boost for all New Jersey hockey fans.
Some immediately wondered why their in-state neighbors, the New Jersey Devils, weren’t chosen as their NHL affiliate. For both teams, it might be for the best, believe it or not. Let’s take a look back at Trenton’s previous ECHL team, the Trenton Titans, which became the Trenton Devils.
When they entered the ECHL in 1999, they were Philadelphia Flyers affiliates (fun fact: their head coach for that first season was Bruce Cassidy, who would later win the 2023 Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights). . That easily won over Flyers fans (Trenton is roughly halfway between New York City and Philadelphia, both in distance and sports fandom). Even if you weren’t a Flyers fan, the name “Titans” was benevolent enough that you could root for one of the area's other NHL teams without feeling guilty of betrayal. The Titans were a success at the ticket office and on the ice, winning the league's championship, the Kelly Cup, during the 2004-2005 season.
Then came the Devils. For a variety of reasons, the Devils themselves purchased the ECHL franchise and turned it into their own affiliate, the “Trenton Devils”. From the parent club's standpoint, it made a lot of sense to have a local minor league affiliate. From the business side, it made a lot of sense to grow the Devils' brand throughout the state. Since the franchise’s inception, it’s been mostly concentrated in North Jersey. They would be the only ECHL affiliate owned by their NHL affiliate. Plus, why would the then ECHL owners and management turn down money from an NHL pocket ?
The Little League Devils never regained that Titans' level of success. Even without wins on the ice, the biggest problem was the lack of fanbase as the team used to sellouts and large crowds suddenly became one of the league's least attended as well as having financial difficulties. One of the main reasons accepted by hockey history has been the sudden rebranding to the Devils, which turned off the large contingent of Flyers fans in the area.
It also wasn’t exactly appealing to those fans who fell in love with the “Titans” brand. It was almost like they could enjoy a game without feeling the commitment of NHL fandom. The Devils would suspend operations in 2011-2012, before returning for a few more seasons as the rebranded Titans, and folding again after the 2012-2013 season.
That’s one of the cool things about minor league hockey: the zany identities and team names that local fanbases love. No one expected this new team to once again be named “the Devils”. If the Devils were chosen as the NHL affiliate, there would have been complaints from the large number of fans of rival teams in the area, as well as those who remember the failure of their last local “Devils” team. The Islanders are far enough away from UBS Arena to satisfy Islanders prospects and team personnel without offending the fans of any of the Trenton area’s main NHL fan bases.
The Islanders' minor league system has made other major changes this offseason. Their previous ECHL affiliate was the Worcester Railers. They are moving their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, to Hamilton, Ontario. The Devils minor league affiliates remain the Adirondack Thunder at the ECHL level and the Utica Comets at the AHL level.
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