Pittsburgh, PA – The Pittsburgh Stars AAA Hockey Club of the Tier I Hockey Federation (THF) have announced that Esmark Stars 18U AAA Hockey forward Jack Ammons has signed a United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) tender agreement with the Railers Junior Hockey Club.
The 18-year-old forward from Raleigh, NC, recorded 8 points (2 goals and 6 assists), in 23 THF regular season games and 4 THF Playoff Games in helping lead the U18 Stars to the League’s 18U AAA Championship game.
Overall, the 5’11” / 175 lbs. forward tallied 29 points (7 goals, 22 assists), including one power play goal, in 68 games played for the Star’s U18 AAA Midget Major squad.
The 2023-24 season was Ammon’s first season with the AAA Stars program.
“Jack is a solid get for the Railers,” said Stars 18U head coach Dave Kosick. “His skill set will allow him to check many boxes in terms of finding and securing a role and place at the junior level. Jack’s desire to succeed will serve him well as he makes the jump to the next level.”
Ammons becomes the second Star’s player to sign a tender with a NCDC Club for the ’24-’25 season, joining teammate Jackson Furman, who previously signed with the Northern Cyclones.
Overall, Ammons becomes the thirteenth player from the 2023-24 Esmark Stars AAA Program to sign a tender with a Junior A Club for the 2024-25 season. He joins 18U teammates Nathan Burlando (Minnesota Mallards), Jackson Furman (Minnesota Mallards), Timur Naletov (Danbury Hat Tricks), Aiden Petroff (New Hampshire Mountain Kings), Max Rutkowski (Oklahoma Warriors), Jacob Stock (Watertown Shamrocks), Alex Thomas (Colorado Grit), Mark Trischler (Kenai River Brown Bears), and Mykyta Yalovyi (Lone Star Brahmas), as well as 16U Esmark forwards Emmet McClaine and Vitaliy Ulianov, who both signed with the Johnstown Tomahawks, and 16U defenseman Talon Del Signore, who signed with the Minnesota Mallards, who all signed tender agreements with North American Hockey League (NAHL) Junior A Clubs for the upcoming season. Additionally, teammate Hudson Howard signed a tender agreement with the New Jersey 87s of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EHL).
The Railers Junior Hockey Club will join the NCDC’s eight-team New England Division, along with the Boston Junior Rangers (MA), Islanders Hockey Club (MA), Northern Cyclones (NH), Seacoast Spartans (NH), South Shore Kings (MA), Thunder Hockey Club (NH), Utica Jr Comets (NY), and Wilkes Barre Scranton Knights (PA).
The 2024-25 season will be the Railer’s inaugural season in the NCDC. The Railers will play in the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center in Worcester, MA, and will be led by Head Coach Sean Bertoni.
As always, the Tier 1 Hockey Federation is committed to celebrating and supporting the success of talented young athletes. If you have a player whose achievements you would like to see featured in our announcements, please fill out the form here. We are eager to share the stories of these rising stars as they advance in their hockey careers.