Trenton makes another pitch to host minor-league hockey

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Earlier this week, the prospective ECHL franchise intended to relocate from Salt Lake City to the Delaware Valley for the 2026-27 season finally gained a name.

On Tuesday, in a ceremony within the club's home located smack in the middle of all the action in Jersey's capital, the Trenton IronHawks were born.

"Today marks an important milestone as we officially announce our franchise name, the Trenton IronHawks, and prepare to bring a new era of professional ECHL hockey to Trenton," said new team president Bob Ohrablio to a gathered media throng which included city mayor Reed Gusciora and Mercer County Executive Dan Benson. "The hawk symbolizes strength and spirit, while the iron industry and its workers remain vital to Trenton's economy through their grit and determination."

The sale was officially announced in early September, after the ECHL Board of Governors signed off on the transaction. 

The ECHL team in Trenton will be called the Trenton IronHawks pic.twitter.com/h23vFKOAkV

— Kyle Franko (@kj_franko) January 13, 2026

There will be no swap of affiliations for the new Trenton franchise despite its proximity to Philadelphia. It is expected to be the second-level minor team attached to the Colorado Avalanche. The Reading Royals are expected to keep its agreement current with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Minor league hockey last graced the CURE Insurance Arena in 2013 -- the last season the NHL decided to try and implode and whose labor strife delayed the season until late January -- when the Trenton Devils played there during the last of their 6-season sojourn. Prior to that, the club was known as the Trenton Titans who were linked primarily to the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League and Flyers. Secondary affiliations once hooked the double-A level franchise to the Islanders and Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The original iteration of the Titans played from 1999 to 2007 in Trenton, missing out on the postseason only once in eight years and winning the Kelly Cup in 2005 in a 6-game triumph over the Florida Everblades. Head coach of that champion was Middletown, NJ native Mike Haviland, who parlayed that and a previous league title in Atlantic City into a long string of coaching gigs from Division 1 NCAA to the NHL.

The initial franchise rebrand arrived for the 2007-08 season with an affiliation switch north to the New Jersey Devils, but then reverted back to the Titans moniker in 2011, This club made the postseason just once in four years, and not in the two years thereafter when the roster was a grab-bag of never-weres attached to the Flyers and Devils as well as untethered free agents.

The only name of consequence on the Titans' final roster was Scott Wedgewood, who made the leap to Albany in the AHL that season and eventually cracked an NHL roster with the Devils in 2015 before finally sticking to the big league in 2020 with New Jersey. Wedgewood is currently part of the Colorado Avalanche's blistering start to the 2025-26 campaign.

The cancelled 2004-05 NHL season as well as the four-month labor stalemate begun in September 2012 afforded an excellent opportunity to get a feel for the teams and the league itself. However, hockey fans and even those casuals and families to whom ECHL franchises cater, clearly felt different. 

It is clearly a hard sell for a low-level minor-league franchise to gain any kind of semi-permanent foothold in a region where there are major-league options within a 2-hour jaunt. Yet, Delaware-based owners Pro Hockey Partners, LLC are taking the risk.

According to HockeyDB, attendance in Trenton was strong early on but cratered thereafter, with average nightly attendance peaking in the first season of 1999-2000 at almost 7,100 per night and slipping to 3,515 per game eight years later. Same thing for the second stage, with a high of 3,315 per game coming in 2007-08 and bottoming at 2,390 four seasons later. Paradoxically, attendance rose from just over 3,000 per game in 2011-12 to 3,360 in that final turn on the ice. 

CURE Insurance Arena capacity, by the way, is still listed at just a hair over 7,600 seats for hockey. 

The franchise which is relocating, the Utah Grizzlies, are the spiritual brothers with a previous franchise located in SLC which bore the same name. The original Grizz were born as a rebrand from the highly-successful CHL Salt Lake Golden Eagles -- an affiliate of the Calgary Flames whose most famous alumnus might be Theo Fleury -- and played in the now-defunct International Hockey League from 1995 to 2001. 

When the IHL folded after that season, the club was one of a small handful given new life in the AHL. While only lasting four years as a top-flight minor-league team, they were dropped back to the ECHL in 2005 and stayed there ever since. The Norfolk Admirals did the same thing, sort of. After being successful enough and with a consistently large enough fan base in the ECHL to warrant a promotion, the club arose to the AHL in 2000 and stayed until 2015 before its dissolution. The second generation Norfolk team that roams the ECHL today was born from the ashes of the old Bakersfield Condors.

Over the last several seasons calling the Maverik Center in West Valley City home, the Grizzlies average attendance was around half of the 12,600-seat venue. But with the relocation of the nomadic Arizona Coyotes to Utah's largest city three years ago, there clearly wasn't enough room in town for both minor and major hockey. 

What remains to be seen is whether this separation would bring to an end an almost unbroken chain of top-level minor hockey in the city stretching back more than five decades, to the original Golden Eagles in the original Western Hockey League.

CURE Insurance Arena, by the way, is in a not-so-great part of the city, accessed through other not-so-great parts of the city. It is not really close to anything approximating other family-friendly entertainment in the historic locale. 

Funny how the revitalization always packaged with and promised by developers when a new venue is constructed in a depressed area never really arrives.

My first job in hockey was unpaid, as a member of the off-ice stats crew in Reading. We learned from the crack staff in Trenton and we, in turn, taught the newbies in Atlantic City.

The postgames became a tight-knit circle of stats crew, team staff, players and game officials where nothing was off limits and nothing was repeatable in public. Whether fan or worker, you can get a real sense of what life is like on the margins. If players last long enough, they bond with the fans and become part of the community. The lucky few end up putting down roots.

I recall having a seat in the press box at Trenton during the winter of 2013, when a team higher-up called the team's nominal beat writer into the hall between periods for a hush-hush conversation that served as silent confirmation that it would be the curtain dropper for the second version of the Titans. No fanfare for the open secret.

By then, the only selling point was afternoon games aplenty, particularly on non-school winter holidays. Fans -- many of them with children or young adults in tow -- showed up early but left as soon as they could, day or night. 

If Trenton couldn't really work in its original formation with bitter rivals Reading and Atlantic City nearby along with favorable scheduling that featured these clubs on the regular, how could it survive and thrive now? That may be a loaded question. 

The Boardwalk Bullies drew flies and the disembodied voice of Bert Parks despite winning clubs and a Kelly Cup title because historic old Boardwalk Hall was apparently less of a a selling point than Grant's Tomb. The Royals somehow keep hanging on despite Sovereign Center roughly one-third to two-thirds full at best 25 years on and affiliations that switched from the Kings to the Capitals to the Flyers. 

It seems to be part and parcel of the process at this level to shuffle the deck every couple years, try one location then cut-and-run when the going gets tough. It's better than a bust-out. The ECHL made its bones in the late 90s and early 2000s by getting ahead of the NHL's Sun Belt expansion by setting up shop in a more than a dozen southerly locations. Only a precious few remain. They also failed in mid-size cities that traditionally welcomed minor hockey while also trying and failing and trying again in other markets like Dayton, Toledo, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Wichita. 

"The arrival of the Trenton IronHawks is an exciting moment for our city," Gusciora said at the introductory conference. This team brings new energy to the CURE Insurance Arena and creates opportunities for residents, visitors and local businesses alike." 

It is unknown at this point when the Trenton club's schedule for next season will be announced but the club already has a website in place where all team-related news will land.

Best anyone can say at this point is, go while you have the time. Enjoy it while it lasts. 

Roy can dip into the past to give Avs lesson on tempered expectations

Denver, CO -- The Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche is tied at two games apiece, but Avs head coach Patrick Roy still felt compelled to defend his up-and-coming club after dropping two games in St. Paul after winning two in a row on home ice to start the best-of-seven set.

"It was not to go 16-0. How many teams have been 16-0 in the history of the NHL? ... Is there one? No? I'm surprised to hear that. I thought there were a hundred teams," Roy deadpanned when asked how he thought his Central Division champions would fare in the postseason. "It's tough in the playoffs. The 2-2 doesn't bother me one bit. It's how we're going to bounce back that I want to see tomorrow."

Colorado has endured a meteoric rise from 29th in the league a season ago to third overall, thanks to No. 1 overall pick and prohibitive Calder Trophy favorite Nathan McKinnon, a goaltender in Semyon Varlamov who broke Roy's single-season wins record and garnered mention as a Vezina Trophy candidate for the first time in his career, and a half-dozen other talents who have logged less than five years of service in the NHL. 

After a blistering franchise-record 14-2-0 start to the season, Roy's club cooled off a bit mid-year, only to regroup after the Olympics to outwait an injured Blues club and a sputtering Blackhawks and rise to the top of their division and gain the second seed in the Western Conference. What followed was an emotional comeback 5-4 overtime win on home ice in Game 1 and a solid 4-2 decision in Game 2.

But the tables turned in the Twin Cities, with the avalanche of offense suddenly reversed to flakes of chances, and two combined goals in losing 1-0 in OT and 2-1 over Games 3 and 4 as the Wild turned to the choking defensive game which is a franchise hallmark. The tides of momentum in this series have pundits searching for equal and opposite poles of rhetoric depending on which team wins and loses. 

Roy seems circumspect, for good reason.

"I understand we want a fast track. I understand we want to be Stanley Cup contenders. But it's a learning process. What the Montreal Canadiens did in '86 with eight rookies (including Roy), I'm not going to tell you it's going to happen every year. Maybe it has changed. It's tough to win the Stanley Cup." 

After that surprise triumph in '86 against the upstart Calgary Flames which netted Roy the Conn Smythe Trophy, it was a rocky road for both he and the Canadiens. Montreal lost in the Wales Conference Finals in '87 to the Flyers, with Roy eventually supplanted as starter by backup Brian Hayward, and the Habs dropped a five-game series to Boston in the Adams Division Finals in '88. After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in '89, a loss to Calgary, Roy didn't sniff the third round until his next Cup win in 1993. 

Once in Colorado, he led the nascent Avalanche to the Cup Finals in 1996, but lost to Detroit the next year in the Western Finals, then bombed out with the rest of his mates in the first round against Edmonton in '98. Colorado lost twice to Dallas in the third round in '99 and 2000, before winning the Cup again in 2001. Two years later, after he allowed an overtime winner to Andrew Brunette in Game 7 on home ice against the Wild which saw the Avs squander a 3-1 series edge, Roy decided to call it quits.

"I know we love to say we're Stanley Cup contenders, bingo, like this. You know that I love winning. But we need to be patient with our group," Roy added. "This is a young team. These are huge steps and this is a learning process. I'm proud of my team. I'm extremely proud. I'm not going to throw them under the bus because I'm their partner. I've been with them all along. I trust our team."

That's a big step for a Hall-of-Fame talent who was notoriously competitive, demanding the best of himself and of his teammates over 18 seasons, and never being shy to express that opinion. Roy the player could put you on blast, but Roy the head coach has recognized a steadier hand has to prevail. 

Roy even found himself staring at the situation from the opposite side. The Quebec Remparts called on him early in the 2005-06 season to take over for Eric Lavigne, and rolled the wave of momentum from his unique brand of leadership to 52 wins and the QMJHL Finals, where they lost to Moncton. However, the following season, his club only won 37 games and suffered a first-round playoff defeat. Still, he continued to build and develop, with the Remparts winning two playoff rounds in both 2009 and 2011, though the club won just one round the last two seasons.

"Can we skip some of it? I hope so," Roy said about the pains which accompany the growth process for many NHL teams. "But I'm very proud of what we have accomplished so far. Am I satisfied? The answer is no."

When Roy entered the league almost 30 years ago, it was a shock when a club that accumulated a number of wins north of 45 didn't at least make it to the Stanley Cup round. In the NHL of the 21st Century, regular-season success is no indicator of postseason largesse and vice versa, but Roy has already seemed to have conquered his own biggest enemy and that facing his team if he is learning to live with the results one game at a time.

Forsberg calls it quits

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

The second NHL comeback of former superstar Peter Forsberg is over after just two games.

Forsberg, the 37-year-old Swede who hooked on with the Avalanche last week, made it official on Monday afternoon.

"The time has finally come, I am retiring from the game of ice hockey,” said Forsberg.  “I’ve played hockey all my life but I’ve come to the decision that I’ve played my final game.  It is perfect for me to announce my retirement here in Denver, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.”

The news comes as a shock, with Colorado in the midst of a seven- game losing streak that has seen the club tumble to 14th in the Western Conference.

Once the sixth-overall pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1991 draft, “Foppa” eventually came back home for a 100-game stint from 2005-07.

Forsberg announced his intentions of attempting a comeback last month. The former league MVP had been hindered by foot/ankle problems as far back as his time with the Flyers, but after skating with the Avalanche for a couple weeks last month, he pronounced himself healthy and signed a contract with the club on February 6 for the remainder of the season. Visa issues then kept him out of the lineup until this past weekend.

Nearly three years removed from his last NHL action, Forsberg made his season debut Friday at Columbus. He also played Saturday as Colorado closed out a four-game road trip in Nashville, but was held pointless in both contests and finished with a minus-4 rating.

It was a far cry from his initial return to the game, a nine-game trial with a veteran-laden Avalanche club at the tail end of the 2007-08 campaign. Forsberg tallied one goal and 13 assists in nine regular-season appearances, then added five points in seven playoff games.

Aided by the likes of Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny, the Avalanche topped Dallas in the first round but a sudden rash of injuries derailed the team against rival Detroit in a four-game sweep to the eventual Stanley Cup champions.

Forsberg then returned home to Sweden, but, hampered by those same foot/ankle issues, only played in 26 games over the next two seasons in the Elite League with his hometown club MoDo Ornskoldsvik.

The Avalanche organization will retire Forsberg’s #21 jersey during a special ceremony next season. Details of that event will be announced in the coming months.

“We were proud to offer him the opportunity to come back and play for the Avalanche and certainly respect his decision,” said Avalanche General Manager and Executive Vice President Greg Sherman. “We wish him all the best.”

It is the end of a journey for the slick centerman who made his reputation in the NHL almost single-handedly attempting to dispel all negative stereotypes about European-trained players.

Just as likely to burn a defenseman with a deke or pass as he was to take one on in the corners, Forsberg’s career was shortened and his impact on the game muted by his litany of injuries.

Arriving in Quebec City in a package deal after the blockbuster 1992 trade for Eric Lindros, Forsberg burst onto the international scene by scoring the game-winning shootout goal over Canada in the Gold Medal game at Lillehammer against Team Canada.

He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in the lockout-shortened 1995 season, posting 50 points in 47 games for the Nordiques in their final season of existence.

In 1996, Forsberg was a key cog in the first of two Avalanche Stanley Cup titles, notching 116 points in the regular season and scoring a hat trick in Game 2 of the Finals against Florida. Though he remained an offensive force, Forsberg never again played a full NHL season for the rest of his North American tenure.

He missed 17 games in 1996-97, and then 33 games in 1999-2000. A ruptured spleen caused him to miss the final two rounds of the Avs’ 2001 Cup run, and multiple issues wiped out the entire following regular season.

After a successful 2002 playoffs, Forsberg tallied a league-high 106 points in 2002-03 and took home the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, but more injuries caused a total of 43 absences the very next year.
Philadelphia finally welcomed Forsberg prior to the start of the 2005-06 campaign, but foot and ankle problems and subsequent surgeries, limited him to 60 games. Though he totaled 75 points, the Flyers bowed to Buffalo in the first round.

After just forty games of the next season, Forsberg was dealt to Nashville in a deal which eventually netted the club Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent. The Predators fell to San Jose in the first round and Forsberg began to contemplate his place in the game, eventually returning in March, 2008 to Denver.

Nonetheless, he had a positive impact on the career of Simon Gagne, who recorded career-bests in goals during the 05-06 and 06-07 seasons while playing as a winger on the top line with Forsberg.

Over 708 regular-season games, Forsberg accumulated 249 goals and 885 points and was a plus-238. In 151 playoff appearances, he racked up 64 goals and 171 points.

He departs as the fourth-highest scoring Swedish-born player in NHL history.  Only Mats Sundin (1,349), Nicklas Lidstrom (1,090) and Daniel Alfredsson (1,023) have posted more points.

And So It Begins Again: Forsberg signs with Avalanche

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Peter Forsberg is not done yet.

Nearly three years since injuries derailed his first comeback attempt, the formerly-super Swede decided to return to the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.

The slick center made his second comeback announcement Sunday, following the team's practice in preparation for Monday's game in Phoenix.

The 37-year-old signed a deal for the remainder of the 2010-11 campaign, though no details were released by the team. According to the Denver Post, the contract is worth $1 million but pro-rated for the rest of the season. It is still to be determined when Forsberg will take the ice for his first game, but the Post also reported that Forsberg travelled with the Avs to Arizona.

"We're proud to announce that Peter will be back in an Avalanche sweater," said general manager Greg Sherman. "He will provide additional leadership to our club and he will have an impact with this young team."

Forsberg started practicing with the Avs on January 22 and came to the conclusion that he was healthy enough, after foot ailments made it difficult for him to even skate, to resume his career.

"After testing my abilities with NHL players over the last few weeks, I feel confident that I can play at the NHL level and help this team," Forsberg said. "I wanted to see where I was at physically and I am ready for this new challenge."

Forsberg last played during the tail end 2007-08 campaign, when he posted a lone goal and 13 assists in nine games with Colorado. During that postseason, he helped the Avs top Dallas in the first round before multiple injuries to he and other key personnel resulted in a four-game sweep at the hands of rival Detroit in the Western Semifinals.

He made a splash during his first NHL season, eventually voted was the Rookie of the Year in 1995 with Quebec after posting 50 points in a lockout-shortened schedule, then took home the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2003, when he also led the league with 106 points.

Forsberg was a key cog in two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche in 1996 and 2001 and was also selected to seven NHL All-Star Games.

After scoring the Gold medal-winning goal for Sweden during the 1994 Olympics, he was immortalized on a postage stamp in his home country. Forsberg was also a member of Sweden's 2006 Gold medal-winning Olympic team and has represented his country four times in the quadrennial tournament.

Philadelphia selected Forsberg with the sixth overall choice in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft but traded him to the Nordiques, along with Chris Simon, Steve Duchesne, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman and Ron Hextall in the blockbuster June, 1992 deal that sent Eric Lindros to the Flyers.

He has collected 249 goals and 885 points during his brilliant but oft-injured 12-year career with the Nordiques, Avs, Flyers and Predators, adding 171 points in 151 playoff contests (64 goals, 107 assists).

With Colorado, Forsberg missed 17 games in 1996-97, 33 games in 1999-2000, the remaining two rounds of the 2001 playoffs due to a ruptured spleen, all of the 2001-02 regular season due to multiple issues, then 43 games in 2003-04.

He participated in just 100 of a possible 138 contests in one-plus seasons with the Flyers from 2005-07, then was healthy for a 22-game stretch at the end of 2007 after being dealt to Nashville. At that time, foot and ankle issues derailed his ability to fully participate in practices and games -- the same problems which prevented "Foppa" from playing a whole season in 2008.

Forsberg then returned to his hometown and played sporadically for Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik, appearing in 26 games from 2008-10.