NAPHL exposure and advancement strong in 2017

June 13, 2017

Heading into its 9th season, the NAPHL is coming off another incredible season of player advancement to the NAHL and beyond.

 

Fresh on the heels on the NAHL Draft, which was held on June 6th, the NAPHL announces yet another impressive list of players that were selected to advance to the NAHL.

 

The NAPHL has proved over the years that the league is a great stepping-stone for development and training for young hockey players looking to gain experience and knowledge to work their way up to the National level.

 

In total, 46 NAPHL players signed tenders with NAHL teams throughout the course of the 2016-17 season. A tender is a contract an NAPHL player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender or is drafted by an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team.

 

What’s more impressive is that no other midget league had more players sign NAHL tenders than the NAPHL.

 

In addition, 10 players with NAPHL ties were selected in the NAHL Draft. In total, 56 former NAPHL players now have their rights protected by an NAHL for the 2017-18 season. During the past two years, 120 NAPHL players have signed an NAHL tender or been drafted into the NAHL, a remarkable total.

 

“We are seeing more and more players advance to junior hockey opportunities in the NAHL, which underlines the primary mission of the NAPHL, which is to provide our athletes with an environment and event schedule that will provide them with the maximum amount of exposure possible,” said NAPHL Director Tony Zasowski.  “As someone who has coached in both leagues during the past 10 years, I can tell you that NAPHL players have never been in a better spot for advancement than they are now.”

 

The NAPHL is one of the main pipelines for the NAHL. During the 2016-17 season, over 80 NAPHL alumni were on NAHL rosters, which equated to an average of almost three players per team.

 

In addition, the NAPHL had another incredible year of advancement to the USHL.  For the second straight season, a total of 18 NAPHL players were selected in the USHL Draft. 36 NAPHL players have been drafted in the past two years of the USHL Draft.

 

"The fact that the NAPHL in now maintaining a consistent number of draft picks, tenders and alumni in the NAHL and USHL is very encouraging," continued Zasowski. "Both the NAHL and USHL scouts are regulars at all our events and we have some great, young talent that will be future stars in junior hockey. The NAPHL has proven that it has some of the best talent and teams in midget hockey in the United States.”

 

One of the other big reasons that the NAPHL is advancing more and more players on to the NAHL than ever before are the direct benefits associated being directly involved with one another. One of the exclusive benefits is the NAHL Central Scouting program. NAHL Central Scouting is dedicated to finding NAPHL and NA3HL hockey players, evaluating them in a true unbiased manner and then organizing and providing that information to NAHL teams. No other midget league in the United States has a system like it, where its primary mission is the advancement of players.

 

In addition, the exclusive partnerships with equipment partners Bauer and Vaughn, along with daily news and player recognition, live online broadcasts and league-wide events like the NAPHL regular season showcases, the NAPHL 18U and 16U All-Star Games, the NAPHL Top Prospects Tournament and the Dixon Cup Championship, provide NAPHL players and teams with the maximum amount of exposure that is unparalleled at Tier I midget level.

 

“We see that competition of skill level of NAPHL players get better each season. We are also seeing the evolution, benefits and success behind the NAHL Central Scouting that was established a few years ago,” said NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld. “We now have an established and proven system that works and the evidence is in the continued rise in the number of players advancing to the next levels of hockey, which includes the NAHL draft and tender system. We continue to see the rise in this advancement thanks to our unique event schedule, balanced competition, event scouting system and quality coaching.”