Frisco, TX - The North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) T1ER League has announced rosters for the T1ER Top Prospects teams set to compete March 28 - 30, 2025, at the St. Peters Rec Plex in St. Peters, MO.

Each of the four teams at the Top Prospects will feature 20 players (12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies), combined from both the 18U and 16U T1ER levels.

Eight players from the Pittsburgh Stars AAA Hockey program, five at the U18 and three at the U16 level, were selected to participate in this year's event and will represent the Star’s program.

Selected from the U18 Pittsburgh Stars were forwards Danila Shiriaev (Team Red) and Ian Morganti (Team White), defenseman Evan Ng (Team Red) and Ethan Bombalski (Team Gold), and goaltender Landon Buterbaugh (Team Blue).

Selected from the U16 Pittsburgh Stars were forwards Joseph Crimboli (Team Blue) and Alex Patsilevas (Team Gold), and goaltender Nikita Oleksiienko (Team White).

The teams will be coached by coaches from the NAHL and NA3HL, as well as other top leagues, at the Showcase.

"Year-after-year the T1ER League sets new records for tenders and draft picks in the NAHL and NA3HL,” said Dennis Vickers, Director of Player Personnel and Director of the NAPHL, “and this year is no different.”

“Our clubs have done a tremendous job of reloading on talent and moving players onto the next level. And many of those tendered players have found themselves on Top Prospects rosters, giving them an opportunity to showcase themselves to their future teams by playing against the other ‘best’ in the T1ER League,” Vickers added.

Player selection for the Showcase were determined through a combination of team submissions, NAHL Central Scouting reports, and input from Neutral Zone game reports from this past season’s T1ER events.

This season’s T1ER Top Prospects Showcase is being played in conjunction with the North American Hockey League's (NA3HL) Fraser Cup Championships and a NAHL Scouting Combine in St. Louis.

“Partnering this event with the NA3HL Fraser Cup and the St Louis NAHL Combine gives participating players an opportunity to be seen by the numerous teams and scouts that will be in attendance for the event,” Vickers continued.

“It’s another great opportunity for our T1ER players to be seen, as well as coaches and scouts participating in this event, and we’re excited to host this event.” 

Selections for the event were determined based on a combination of NAHL Central Scouting and Neutral Zone game reports from T1ER events this past season, as well as team submissions.

The schedule for the NAPHL T1ER Top Prospects Showcase is as follows:

Friday, March 28

1:45 PM - Team Blue vs. Team White
3:45 PM - Team Gold vs. Team Red

Saturday, March 29

8:00 AM - Team White vs. Team Red
10:00 AM - Team Gold vs. Team Blue

5:15 PM - Team White vs. Team Gold
7:15 PM - Team Red vs. Team Blue

Sunday, March 30

9:30 AM - Seed #3 vs. Seed #4
2:15 PM - Seed #1 vs. Seed #2

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Blaine, MN - The North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) has announced the T1ER League Peak Performers from the T1ER / T1EHL Invitational event in Blaine, MN, and three members of the Pittsburgh Stars AAA Hockey Program were named.

Congratulations to Pittsburgh Stars AAA Hockey players Nikita Oleksiienko, U16 goaltender, Maxim Popienko, U15 forward, and Jacob Johnson, U15 goaltender, as all were honored as T1ER League Peak Performers for the T1ER / T1EHL Invitational event in Blaine.

Nikita Oleksiienko, U16 goaltender Peak Performer, posted a 2-0-0-0 record in Blaine, securing victories over the CarShield (2-1) and the Madison Capitols (3-2). Over the course of the two games, the Dnipro, Ukraine, native faced 75 shots, making 72 saves. Oleksiienko's standout performance at the T1ER event included making 40 saves on 42 shots against Madison and 32 saves on 33 shots against CarShield.

"Nikita came up big for us in Blaine," 16U Pittsburgh Stars head coach Yuri Krivokhija said. "His performance in both games was outstanding and he shut the door on both CarShield and Madison."

Maksim Popienko, 15U Forward Peak Performer, is the second overall leading scorer at the NAT1HL 15U level, second to teammate Brock Bienemann. Popienko added to his league total with another strong performance in Minnesota, tallying an impressive six points in four games. After notching one assist during game one, the New Kensington, PA, native went on a scoring frenzy, finding the back of the net in each of the remaining three games. Against both the Orange County Ice Dogs and Tri-State Spartans, Popienko netted a pair of goals as he rang up five goals over the course of the weekend.

Jacob Johnson, 15U Goaltender Peak Performer, posted back to back wins against the Orange County Ice Dogs and the Philadelphia Hockey Club, improving his NAT1HL season record to 3-1-0-0. Over the course of the weekend, the Johnstown, PA averaged just over 38 shots per game as he faced 77 shots, making 76 saves. In his two wins, Johnson earned his first shutout of the season after turning away all 29 shots against the Ice Dogs and posted an impressive  .979 save percentage, stopping 47 of 48 shots he faced, in a 5-1 win over the Philly Hockey Club.

“Both Maksim and Jacob had outstanding weekends," said U15 Stars head coach Chris Stern. “Their hard work paid off in both ends of the ice. And they certainly contributed to our team's overall success at the event."

Players were chosen based on their performances in the regular season games that took place from Dec 13 - 16.

NAT1HL "Peak Performers" are selected by the NAT1HL scouting service, following the completion of each event ... top forward, defenseman and goaltender ... at each age level of play at the showcase.