Hockey Operations

Jake Kapel – Head Equipment Manager

Jake Kapel is in his second season as the New Jersey Titans Head Equipment Manager.  A native of Jarvis, Ontario, Jake got his start in the industry with the Lake Erie Bighorns in the USPHL before moving to the North American Hockey League with the Jamestown Rebels in 2021.  After the Rebels relocated to southern New Jersey as the Philadelphia Rebels, Jake was brought on board by the Titans in the summer of 2022. Kapel has been named an Equipment Manager for the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament for all three seasons he has been in the league.  He spends his summers in Erie, Pennsylvania, with his wife Morgan and son Liam.

 

Aidan Zielaznicki – Assistant Equipment Manager

Aiden Zielaznicki joins the Titans as their Assistant Equipment Manager for the 2023-24 season.  A native of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Zielaznicki got his start in hockey playing for Brick at the venerable Ocean Ice Palace. He played varsity hockey for Point Pleasant Boro for all four of his high school seasons, leading his team to a conference championship birth as a senior.  He then played for Kutztown University in the College Hockey Federation, where he was named a captain and recorded nearly a point per game for the Golden Bears before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management in May 2023.

 

Joe Abruzzo – Head Athletic Trainer

Joe Abruzzo is in his 8th season with the New Jersey Titans. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Long Island University-Brooklyn with a Masters degree in Athletic Training in 2005.  He began his junior hockey career in 2007 with the Metro Moose in the Continental Hockey Association. From 2013-16 he was the Athletic Trainer for the New York Bobcats in Eastern Hockey League, before joining the Titans in the summer of 2016.  Abruzzo also works in the National Hockey League, beginning as an intern with the New York Rangers before being hired directly by the League in 2016. He lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey, with his wife Christina and two children.