By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The NCDC will be previewing each of the 21 teams set to hit the ice during the 2024-25 season in a continuing series up to the Sept. 19 start of the new campaign.
Jersey Hitmen
Atlantic Division
Home Arena: Ice Vault Arena
Head Coach: Toby Harris
The Jersey Hitmen always come away from a season with a feeling of mission accomplished due to their traditionally high advancement rates to the NCAA Division I, II and III levels each season. However, they still love it when they are the hunted, when they are the defending champions, and the banners around the Ice Vault attest to how often they’ve done that. In the short seven-year history of the NCDC alone, the Hitmen won the Dineen Cup in back-to-back years (2021 and 2022) and have always been in the mix for the top prize.
While the 2023-24 Hitmen were a largely new group on the ice, several returning veterans will quickly help bring new players up to speed on the victorious and successful Hitmen culture.
“I really like our team chemistry and locker room culture early. With 10 players that suited up for our NCDC team returning and four former Hitmen 18U players moving up to our top team, half of the players know what our team expectations are,” said Head Coach Toby Harris.
The Hitmen certainly have never been shy about hitting the roadways and flight paths to construct the right mix for their culture every season. This 2024 off-season was no different.
“We had a great spring, winning the Pro-Am Pre-Draft tournament in May. That was closely followed by going 3-0 in our NCDC main camp exhibition games versus other NCDC Atlantic Division main camp teams,” Harris added. “What I believe was the highlight was the fact that 25 of the 30 players in our current NCDC training camp were at our NCDC main camp earlier this summer.”
The Hitmen have the coaching staff with the longest tenure of working together. Harris and Hunt joined the team at its founding in 2003, and over that time, they have combined for 17 championships. This includes 10 in the regular season (including five straight between 2019 and 2023) plus seven more in the playoffs.
“Our expectations are always the same: To win the Founders Cup and the Dineen Cup titles,” added Harris.
The Hitmen are excited to bring back two of their 2023-24 Alternate Captains in forward Tyler Fogu and Lucas DiChiara.
“Both players bring leadership. Fogu is a tireless worker that plays in every situation for us,” Harris said. “DiChiara is a very solid defender that will run a power play for us up top.”
The returning crew certainly doesn’t stop there. Harris is also excited about Wilson Farrow, Aiden Ryan, Brayden Zupsansky and Sammi Mielock.
“Wilson rejoins the team after an injury sidelined him late in the season. Farrow is an Ivy League student who will be an NCDC All-Star as he has great feet and an amazing hockey IQ,” said Harris. “Aiden is a prototypical power forward with a ton of speed and an amazing shot off the wing. Brayden and Sammi both had very strong playoff runs for us and will be called on early in their second season of junior hockey to fill the net. Both have excellent offensive instincts with Zupansky being lightning and Mielock thunder.”
Some additional players joining already with junior experience include Josh Erickson, a Lawrence Academy alum joining from the NAHL, while Kayson Un Yi, a Culver Military Academy alum, joins out of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Another exciting newcomer is Filip Tomiczek, a USPHL Premier Atlantic Division All-Star last year with the Elmira Impact.
“A top 10 scorer in the Premier, Filip joins us after having an amazing junior season, scoring over 40 goals,” added Harris.
From within the Hitmen organization, the NCDC team is welcoming former 18U players Ty Oller, Alex Helgeson, Jake Baratta and Patrick Nulty. Up front, Oller and Baratta combined for more than 150 points with 75 and 76, respectively. Helgeson scored 16 goals and 35 points from the blue line, and Nulty put in two years as a defensive defenseman for the 18U Hitmen.
The Hitmen are also utilizing some of their past NCDC Entry Draft picks such as Patrick Walsh, Vitalii Ulianov and Gerrit Lansing. A 2020 Futures Draft pick, Walsh has just come off a “stellar three-year career at Kent School,” said Harris. The ’07 forward Ulianov – a 2023 Entry Draft pick – joins from the Esmark Stars, where he put up 50 goals. Gerrit Lansing is a 2024 Phase II pick from this year’s NCDC Entry Draft, coming to the Hitmen from the Taft School.
“Walsh has great speed and a nose for the net. Vitalii is ultra-skilled, and Gerrit is a smooth-skating defender who plays a solid, 200-foot game,” added Harris.
The Hitmen are certainly going to enjoy going into this year with the opportunity to reclaim their prior glories. This 2024-25 Hitmen team will work to show everyone just how much this winning culture with a shining advancement record means to every player.
“This is the first time in 10 seasons that the Hitmen do not begin the year with a Founders Cup or Dineen Cup, or both, in the trophy cabinet to defend,” said Harris. “This fact has the locker room hungry and thirsting for those titles to come back to Jersey.”
