Esmark 18U forward Naletov signs NAHL tender

The Esmark Stars AAA Hockey Club of the T1ER North American Prospects Hockey League have announced that 18U Esmark Stars AAA Hockey forward Timur Naletov has signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) tender agreement with the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks of the NAHL's East Division.

The 17-year-old forward from St. Petersburg, Russia, has recorded 7 points (1 goal and 6 assists) in eight T1ER North American Prospects Hockey League games to date, helping lead Esmark’s 18U to a perfect 8-0-0-0 T1ER start.

Overall the (6'1" / 185 lbs.) forward has tallied 27 points (6 goals, 21 assists), including one power play goal, in 34 games played for Esmark's U18 AAA Midget Major squad (through Nov. 30).

The 2023-24 season is Naletov’s first season with Esmark's U18 Midget Major squad and second season overall with the Esmark Stars program.

During the 2022-23 season, Naletov registered 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists), including two game-winning goals, in 16 North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) appearances (eight regular season and four Dixon Cup NAPHL Playoff games) for Esmark's U16 AAA Midget Minor squad.

Overall during the 2021-22 season, Naletov tallied 103 points (32 goals, 71 assists), including four power-play and three short-handed goals, in 65 games played for the 16U Esmark squad.

"Timur is very talented player with a great set of offensive skills,” said Esmark 18U head coach Dave Kosick. "Eclipsing the 100-point mark, last season, was quite an accomplishment and demonstrated his ability to get on the scoresheet and make an impact in all games he plays in. He will present Danbury with a young talented forward who is a high-end offensive threat.”

Naletov becomes the third member of the 2023-2024 Esmark 18U AAA team to sign a tender with a Junior A club. Teammates Alex Thomas, Colorado Grit, and Max Rutkowski, Oklahoma Warriors, had both previously signed tender agreements with the NAHL teams.

Click here to see a list of T1ER tenders for the 2023-24 season

A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted ten (10) tenders, which include two (2) tenders exclusively used on players from the T1ER - plus or minus any trades - which became active on November 1st. Tendered players are not eligible for the 2024 NAHL Draft.