3View: New Jersey Titans

The 3View series will feature an in-depth look into all NA3HL teams in preparation for the 2022-23 season, with two teams being highlighted daily, leading all the way up until the start of the regular season. 3View goes in-depth into each NA3HL team and will include interviews with all the head coaches in the NA3HL, as they provide fans with their expectations and outlook for the 2022-23 season, including taking a look at their potential roster and their strengths as a team for the upcoming season. It will also take a look back on the 2021-22 season and how each team fared and what they accomplished. Best of all, 3View will provide the fans of the NA3HL with an inside look at their favorite team and what to expect.

New Jersey Titans

2021-22 Record: 14-32-1, 29 pts. (5th in East Division)

2022 Playoffs: Did Not Qualify

Head Coach: Andrey Kapranov

2022-23 Division: East Division

After a successful inaugural 2020-21 season in the NA3HL, the New Jersey Titans had a bit of a step-back in their sophomore year, placing 5th in the East Division and missing the playoffs.

Andrei Kapranov, returning as head coach after spending last year with the NAHL's New Jersey Titans, is looking to flip the script and use the framework of success he saw in the NAHL and bring that over to the NA3HL club.

When asked about this upcoming season, Kapranov stated, “Although the team started off well, the season took a turn for the worst, and we didn’t make the playoffs. I am returning to coach the team after a year hiatus. I am looking to field a competitive team like we had in the first year and make the playoffs again for the second time in three years.”

Kapranov is a beneficiary of the curated ladder of development in New Jersey’s organization but he knows that the players can benefit from it just as much. The Titans organization has a strong footprint, becoming members of the NA3HL in the 2020-21 season, joining the NAHL in the 2015-16 campaign, and having a youth teams in the NAPHL.

“The Titans organization is a great ladder of development for all of our players. Many of our youth players have gone onto play for our NA3HL and NAHL teams. One of our NA3HL players in our first year was the east division’s forward and rookie of the year, and he went onto have a very productive season last year at the NA level before he went onto play NCAA Division III ice hockey. Our goal is to advance our players to the next level and get them an NCAA college commitment," said Kapranov.

The Titans are faced with a challenge of fielding a roster with a completely new set of faces, as they have no returning players from the 2021-22 group. The players coming together as a team is on the top of the priority list for the coaching staff.

“I am looking forward to our new players giving 100% on every shift of practice and game. I want them to jell as a team on and off the ice, give an honest effort and be very competitive.”

Being faced with this challenge before the season has begun, the Titans still expect to be a force to be reckoned with in the East Division.

“Historically this has been a very challenging and tough division, and I expect nothing less this upcoming season. We play each other a lot so we have all built a nice rivalry with the teams. Ultimately our goal is to win the Fraser Cup, I want to be competitive and work hard. Hopefully the team will make the playoffs, advance to the East Division finals and move onto the Fraser Cup tournament. Two years ago we were 20 minutes away from advancing to the tournament. Hopefully we will get there this year.”

The Titans’ quest to advance to the Fraser Cup Championship will begin on September 9th on home ice, taking on the powerhouse Northeast Generals.

Next Up: Minnesota Loons