Similar to last week's Team of the Week, the Seahawks Hockey Club, the New Jersey 87s began play as a junior hockey franchise back in the 2017-18 season. However, the difference between the Seahawks and 87's is that New Jersey only had a team at the EHLP level their first year. The previous two years they've fielded teams out of both divisions (EHL and EHL), and in total, the organization has won 161 regular season games.
Adam Houli and Matthew Kiernan are both Co-Owners and Co-Coaches of the franchise, and they strongly believe that the first year in the EHLP helped develop their program the same way the division helps develop players for the EHL. Since they decided they wanted to get involved in junior hockey back in 2015, the 87's have experienced an upward progression with each and every year, and Houli credits that to the EHL being a step above the rest.
