The spotlight has never shined as bright on Western Pennsylvania's top young hockey talent.
"This is really big time," Dave Kosick said. "At a showcase in Minnesota (in September), there were more scouts from amateur organizations than you would want to count."
Kosick coaches the Pittsburgh Viper Stars 18-and-under AAA team in the North American Prospects Hockey League. The Viper Stars also have a 16-and-under AAA team in the league. In its second year, the NAPHL is a leading midget-level league providing players an opportunity to play at national showcase events in front of college and junior scouts throughout the year.
Kosick founded the then-Pittsburgh Stars in 1984. Featuring players from across the region, the Viper Stars became one of the top clubs in the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League before competing as an independent last season.
"We have developed a pretty lengthy history of who we are and what we do," Kosick said. "Twenty-six years of business tells you it's not fly by night."
After building an organization that won at the regional and national levels yet still saw few scouts at its games, Kosick sought increased visibility for his players. He believed the NAPHL would provide that.
"It's a great step for us because we share the same goal, which is continuing growth and exposure for traveling hockey players," he said. "We're in the business of trying to promote (young) hockey players to juniors and collegiate levels."
The Viper Stars went through a demanding application process to gain admittance to the NAPHL. Their winning tradition helped, but the team opened eyes last year with Matt White on the ice. The forward attracted recruiters from major colleges and junior teams before committing to play at Division I Vermont, where he is a second-line center as a freshman.
"The year we had last year helped get us into the league," Kosick said.
In 15 games at competitive NAPHL showcases in Minnesota, San Jose and Massachusetts, the 18-U and 16-U teams are each 7-8. Overall, the 18-U squad is 29-1-1 with one shootout loss, and the 16-U team has a 34-14-4 mark with four shootout losses.
Between major events, the Viper Stars continue to play local competition outside their league, and several players compete for their high schools. Forward Heinz Koster, a senior at Kittanning, says the skill level of the NAPHL does not compare to the high school level.
"It's definitely a lot higher competition," said Koster, the 18-U team's leading scorer with 50 points, before last weekend's games against Mahoning Valley. "The game is completely different, much faster. You can definitely get looked at (by recruiters) in high school, but you're better off playing travel hockey."
Last month, the 18-U team made an impact on the national scene by going 6-0 and winning the championship of an Indianapolis tournament hosted by the United States Hockey League, a top junior association.
"Everything kind of clicked that weekend," said goaltender Tyler Stepke, a Mars product who is 19-9 with a 1.97 goals-against average this season. "We beat some pretty good teams, and I guess surprised some people."
And opened more eyes to the talent pool in the Pittsburgh region.
"It's neat for the players to look up in the stands to see 15 or 20 scouts watching," Kosick said. "We have a team of 19 right now, and all 19 are important, and all 19 are being showcased. ... From a team perspective, we continue to refine, define and improve our product. We want to make sure we're offering the best travel hockey players in Western Pennsylvania."
