The New Jersey Titans selected eight players in the 2017 NAHL Entry Draft on Tuesday. The club drafted seven forwards and one defenseman in preparation for the 2017-18 season, as well as the Titan’s main camp coming up next month.
With their first pick, and eight overall (after moving up with a trade with Odessa), the Titans selected forward Cole Edwards from the Kingston Voyageurs of the OPJHL. Edwards, ’00, is committed to Colorado College and had 22 points for Kingston last season.
In Round Two, New Jersey was able to stockpile three picks and drafted forwards Jackson Sterrett (39th overall), Austin Magera (44th overall) and Eric Johansson (46th overall). Sterrett, ’99, a commit to UMass-Lowell, had 33 points with the Skipjacks U18 club last year. Magera, ’98, a Sacred Heart University commit, registered 35 points between Lawrence Academy and Neponset Valley. Johansson, ’98, collected 41 points for Stanstead College last year.
With only one pick in Round Four, New Jersey drafted forward Jack Sampson 88th overall from Fox Motors 18U. Sampson, ’98, tallied 62 points in twos season with his previous club.
In Round Five, New Jersey used its final three picks on two forwards and one defenseman. Matthew Cameron, ’00, was picked 106th overall, and is committed to RPI. He had 44 points for the North Jersey Avalanche last season. The Titans then selected Matt Headland from the Charlotte Rush Elite Hockey club 109th overall. Headland, ’98, had 67 points with the Rush last year before earing six games with the titans, where he collected three points in four games. With their final pick, the Titans selected defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr., 110th overall, from the Avalanche as well. Dowd, ’00, is a Penn State University commit.
“I want to start by thanking our entire hockey operations staff for all their hard work and dedication with the draft. Obviously, the draft is a stressful time for both players and teams alike. The Titans are fortunate to have so many people invested in the program and these guys put countless hours of preparation and hard work into the draft process. We were able to add eight very talented young men to our hockey club. We did extensive work in identifying each player and looking into each player both on and off the ice. There are so many good players out there but we felt we identified players who can come in and be important parts of our club next season,” said head coach and general manager, Craig Doremus.
“Ultimately we want to make our main camp as competitive as possible so that we can select the right players to wear our logo come September and the start of the NAHL season. To say we are pleased with the results of the draft would be an understatement. We can’t wait to see these guys in action at our camp in July.”
The Titans coaches and scouts want to congratulate all the players on being drafted. Stay tuned tomorrow as nahltitans.com will bring you closer to the Titans’ draftees!