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Year Three at the LECOM Event Center — game recaps, the season calendar, the storylines to watch and the veteran core the Aviators bring back.
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Game recaps and club news, written by the Aviators broadcast and media staff.
Elmira played a full sixty minutes and out-shot the Jr. Hat Tricks 40-22, converting a dominant Saturday into a 4-1 win and a split of the opening weekend set.
Kevin Broderick · Read the full story
What's ahead
The dates that matter between now and the first home weekend.
Training camp
August 27–30, 2026
Media Day
August 31, 2026
Season opener
September 11–12 at Danbury
NAHL Showcase
September 23–26, Blaine, MN
First home weekend
October 2–3 vs. Danbury
Every date, home and away, is on the full 2026-27 schedule.
Season preview
The Aviators open their third North American Hockey League season with something they have not had before: continuity. Nine players return from the 2025-26 roster, and Leeor Shtrom takes his first full preseason as head coach after stepping into the job partway through last year. Training camp runs August 27–30, with Media Day on Monday, August 31, 2026 at the LECOM Event Center.
The trajectory is the story. Elmira went from 46 points in its first NAHL season to 53 last year, on a 22-28-5-4 record. Buried in that line is the number the season actually turned on: 28 one-goal games, tied for the second-most in the league. A club that spent that much of a season inside one goal does not need to change much to change its record.
The other measure sits away from the standings. The organization counts six NCAA Division I commitments in its first two years and 24 players committed to NCAA programs overall — the reason a junior program exists, and the argument it makes to the next player deciding where to spend a season.
One structural change to note: the Eastern Division drops from 10 teams to eight for 2026-27. Fewer opponents, seen more often — a tighter divisional race and a lot more familiarity by February.
The full 2026-27 roster is not final and will be announced once Hockey Operations clears it.
Year three by the numbers
2025-26 season
Storylines
What to keep an eye on across the 2026-27 season.
Maglio is entering his third season with Elmira and has been with the club since its NAHL launch. He is the franchise's all-time leader in goals (34), assists (38) and points (72), and returns after a 48-point season. The question is how his role expands from production into leadership.
Delaney moved from the NCDC to Elmira during 2025-26 and immediately produced 17 points in 22 NAHL games after recording 30 points in 39 NCDC games. He also put together an eight-game point streak. A full season could make him one of Elmira's most important two-way pieces.
President of Hockey Operations Eddy Lowe and longtime friend Leeor Shtrom enter another season working side by side, but this time Shtrom has a full preseason as head coach. Their shared vision is central to whether Elmira's steady rise becomes a third-year surge.
Campbell produced 39 points in 56 games as an NAHL rookie, including 16 goals. With a full year of league experience and a larger offensive role available, the 19-year-old has a realistic opportunity to push toward the top of Elmira's scoring chart.
Primanti's favorite career memory is winning a triple-overtime Game 7 to lift the MJHL trophy. He also appeared in 57 games for Elmira last season. His championship experience gives the Aviators a veteran voice who knows what late-season pressure feels like.
Elmira returns nine players from the 2025-26 club. That is more than a roster note: it gives newcomers a larger group of teammates who already know the league, the travel, the coaching staff and the close-game lessons from last season.
Pohjola travels just under 4,000 miles from Finland to play in Elmira. In his first U.S. season he scored seven goals and 15 points in 40 games, including a team-high three game-winning goals — a strong human-interest story alongside his on-ice development.
Returning players
Nine players are back from last season. Statistics below are from 2025-26; games played counts Elmira action only.
| Player | Pos | GP | 2025-26 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Maglio | F | 59 | 18-30-48 | Franchise leader: 34 G, 38 A, 72 P. Top returning scorer and the club's longest-tenured player. |
| Max Campbell | F | 56 | 16-23-39 | Fourth on the team in scoring as a rookie; 0.70 points per game at age 19. |
| Jack Kohlmann | F | 34 | 15-16-31 | 0.91 points per game in Elmira action, with nine multi-point games. |
| Jake Baratta | F | 47 | 6-18-24 | Led the team in plus/minus at +10; five points over two late-season games. |
| Cael Primanti | F | 57 | 4-17-21 | MJHL champion before joining Elmira; triple-overtime Game 7 winner. |
| Nico Pohjola | F | 40 | 7-8-15 | Team-high three game-winning goals in his first U.S. season; from Finland. |
| Max McGuire | F | 31 | 8-5-13 | Team-high 77 penalty minutes; committed to NCAA Division I Niagara. |
| Kevin Delaney | D | 22 | 6-11-17 | 17 points in 22 NAHL games after arriving from the NCDC; eight-game point streak. |
| Jake Shingles | G | 10 | 3-3 · .903 | One shutout, plus a 45-save performance against the Rochester Junior Americans. |
Skaters are listed goals-assists-points; goaltenders wins-losses and save percentage.
The club
Bench
Development
Operations & Media
Where this comes from
Team statistics, player notes and franchise information were compiled from the Elmira Aviators 2026-27 Preseason Media Guide. Season dates come from the published NAHL schedule. Figures described as team-provided should be attributed to the organization.
Working media
Credentials, interview requests and the full press packet: Chris Askew marketing@oydlive.com · Kevin Broderick broderickkevin43@gmail.com.
