The North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) has announced the 2018-2019 NAPHL Honor Roll, recognizing academic excellence by its student-athletes.

To qualify for the NAPHL Honor Roll, student-athletes must have achieved certain academic standards during the 2018-19 school year ... including a minimum 3.5 GPA.

The following Esmark Stars players were recognized for their work in the classroom:

U15 -Nathan Dickey, Neil Domico, Liam Varmecky and Ethan Zupanc

U16 - Daniel Baranowski, Ryder Brophy, Nic Capuzzi, Dominic Dezort, Trent Gray, Owen Hixon, Joshua Hrip, Edward Pazo, Connor Strobel, Reed Troutman and Alex Walker

U18 - Andrew Jacobs, Danny Mitchell, Gio Palombo, Lane Ruffner, Will Studt and Oldrich Virag

"I am incredibly proud of these young men," said Stars General Manager Dave Kosick. "As student-athletes they attained academic excellence while meeting the extraordinary demands placed upon an elite athlete. We celebrate their academic accomplishments."

Celebrating its 10th anniversary season in 2018-19, the NAPHL is made up of 41 teams from 17 programs that compete at the 18U, 16U and 15U USA Hockey Tier I level.

The NAPHL has established itself as one of the premier grounds for development and exposure for elite amateur hockey players. The success of teams on the National stage, as well as, the success of NAPHL players at the next levels of hockey, is further proof that the NAPHL is redefining exposure and has elevated itself to one of the premier training grounds for development and opportunity.

The NAPHL has enjoyed a record-breaking amount of advancement in recent seasons, which is highlighted by a large amount of advancement of players to the North American Hockey League (NAHL). No other USA Hockey Midget Tier I league has had more players play in the NAHL over the course of the last two seasons than the NAPHL. 48 players from the NAPHL were tendered to play in the NAHL for the upcoming 2018-19 season. During the past two years, 120 NAPHL players have signed an NAHL tender or been drafted into the NAHL, a remarkable total.

The NAPHL is operated by the NAHL's experienced staff and provides an organized and competitive experience guaranteed to benefit all of the participating student-athletes.