TRENTON — Joel Perez and Jim Miller had never met before they both arrived at the CURE Insurance Arena on Tuesday for an event to announce the name of the ECHL team that will begin play in Trenton next season.
What they did have in common, however, was they both are hockey fans who submitted to the name-the-team contest.
Turns out both had the winning name out of a pool of about 2,000 submissions.
Welcome the Trenton Ironhawks.
“I submitted like six or seven names and they wouldn’t tell me which one they picked,” said Perez, of Bordentown. “When I saw it (revealed) I’m like, ‘Oh, I think that’s me!’ Then I looked over (at Jim) and like is that you, too? And he was like, ‘Yeah!’ I’m like we might have won this together.”
Miller, a Lawrenceville resident, said he incorporated Iron into some of his suggestions because of the city’s historic Roebling Steel Plant that sat adjacent to the arena’s location on the corner of Hamilton Ave. and Route 129.
Perez and Miller both won season tickets as their reward.
“I’m glad to have hockey back here,” Miller said. “We used to come to the old Trenton Titan games, so I’m looking forward to coming back to these games.”
Joel Perez and Jim Miller, winners of the pick a name contest, talk about Trenton IronHawks being selected. Both won season tickets to the inaugural season pic.twitter.com/1e1v6nnIAO
— Kyle Franko (@kj_franko) January 13, 2026
The team name was revealed in the style of a movie trailer, which featured an Ironhawk being wielded by steel and taking flight over the Trenton Makes Bridge before landing on top of the CURE Insurance Arena.
It also played on the city’s past history in the ECHL. Trenton hosted a team from 1999-2013 and won the Kelly Cup in 2005 as the Trenton Titans.
“Trenton has been a city that understands strength, grit and resilience. That’s why the name Trenton IronHawks feels so right,” Mayor Reed Gusciora said. “This is a city forged in industrial revolution long before hockey sticks and slap shots; Trenton was shaping the nation with iron, steel and wire. Just a few blocks from here the Roebling Wire Works helped build the Brooklyn Bridge and powered American industry. That craftsmanship, toughness and innovation still runs through this city.”
Mercer County Executive Dan Benson said the arena will serve as the lynchpin for a revitalization of South Broad Street.
“Where people come not only for the game, but they will be able to stay to shop or dine or learn what we have in a diverse history and culture in our capital county and capital city,” Benson said, adding that the arena will have a new ice machine, dasher boards, renovated locker rooms, improved signage and revamped suits.
The ECHL team in Trenton will be called the Trenton IronHawks pic.twitter.com/h23vFKOAkV
— Kyle Franko (@kj_franko) January 13, 2026
Pro Hockey Partners LLC, a group headed by Joe Eng and Bob Ohrablo, purchased the Utah Grizzlies in September of last year and received approval from the league’s Board of Governors to move the team to Trenton.
The Shrewsbury-headquartered ECHL — the equivalent to Double-A baseball with the AHL serving at Triple-A — was formed in 1988 with five teams in four states and has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 30 teams in 23 states and one Canadian province.
Ohrablo said 750 season tickets have been sold ahead of the the inaugural campaign that begins in October. Fans in attendance on Tuesday were able to purchase Ironhawks gear at the arena.
“We look forward to delivering exciting hockey and family entertainment starting in October and for years to come,” he said. “This is your team, Trenton, and we invite everyone to join us. It’s time to forge ahead for victory.”
Ohrablo concluded by announcing a March bus trip to watch the Reading Royals “so that we can show our rivals in Reading we are back.”
“When I heard Trenton was coming back, it was like alright they are not going to bring the Titans back so let’s get a new name,” Perez said. “I’m happy they chose one of mine.”
