Esmark 18U forward Yalovyi 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 Mykyta Yalovyi has signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) tender agreement with the Lone Star Brahmas.

The 17-year-old forward from Donetsk, Ukraine, has recorded 6 points, all goals (6 goals and 0 assists), including one power play goal 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 (6'2" / 190 lbs.) forward has tallied 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists), including four power play goals and one shorthanded goal, in 36 games played for Esmark's U18 AAA Midget Major squad (through Dec. 3).

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

During the 2022-23 season, Yalovyi registered 23 points (15 goals, 8 assists) in 19 North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) appearances (regular season and Dixon Cup NAPHL Playoff games) for Esmark's U16 AAA Midget Minor squad.

Overall during the 2022-23 season, Yalovyi tallied 60 points (31 goals, 29 assists), including six power-play and three short-handed goals, in 66 games played for the 16U Esmark squad.

"Mykyta is a man-child with tremendous strength who can dominate a game,” said Esmark 18U head coach Dave Kosick. "As he continues to mature and harnesses his game, the sky is the limit for him in terms of where he will end up playing. His style of play should fit in well with Lone Star and the Southern Division of the NAHL.”

Yalovyi becomes the fourth member of the 2023-2024 Esmark 18U AAA team to sign a tender with a Junior A club. Teammates Alex Thomas, Colorado Grit; Max Rutkowski, Oklahoma Warriors; and Timur Naletov, Danbury Hat Tricks had all 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.