Butler senior Brody Simko has blossomed into one of the top players in the North American Prospects Hockey League this season. Submitted Photo

BUTLER TWP — Brody Simko’s hockey future keeps getting brighter.

The Butler senior — and Golden Tornado’s all-time career goal scoring leader with 56 — is leading the North American Prospects Hockey League with an average of two points per game this season and recently signed a tender with the North American Hockey League’s Maryland Black Bears.

Simko is a left wing with the Esmark Stars AAA 18-under team, based in New Kensington. He scored 18 goals and added 25 assists in 61 games for Esmark last season.

This year, the 6-foot-0, 195-pound winger has exploded for 40 goals and 36 assists in 45 games for the team.

“It’s just maturity,” Esmark 18u coach Dave Kosick said. “He’s growing as a player. He’s not a finished product by any means, but he’s making major strides.”

Simko is finding the net on 25.5% of his shots this season. He’s got eight power plays goals and two shorthanded tallies to his credit.

“I feel like I can score from anywhere in the offensive zone,” Simko said. “I have a good shot and I work hard to put pucks in the net from down low.

“What I’m working on now is being more explosive as a player.”

That could be scary to upcoming opponents.

Simko scored seven goals in a game this season. He was named NAPHL Player of the Month in September and was named Tier 1 Hockey Federation Player of the Week twice.

“Scoring seven goals in a game at this level of hockey is a very rare thing,” Kosick said. “I haven’t seen anything like that in a long, long time. But Brody can have nights like that.

“He has the innate ability to find the net. He skates well through traffic and knows how to get in position to score. Some of the things he does on the ice, you can’t teach. It’s just there.”

Simko,18, said his increased production on the ice this season is partially due to his attitude.

“I’m one of the older guys on the team now,” he said. “I want to be a leader and the best way to do that is by example.”

In signing a tender with the NAHL Maryland franchise, Simko gives his player rights to that team and is not eligible for the 2023 NAHL draft. Each NAHL team is granted 10 tenders, including two exclusively from NAPHL players.

He became the sixth member of his Esmark team to sign a tender with the NAHL this season. His team has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the United States and is currently ranked 15th.

It’s very helpful, playing on such a talented team,“ Simko said. ”We set each other up. It’s been fun.“

Esmark still has 20 to 30 games left on the schedule, including trips to Tampa (Fla.), Troy (Mich.) and Columbus (Ohio).

“We play more than 65 games each season and we travel to Boston, Omaha, Chicago, Detroit ... these kids get a lot of exposure,” Kosick said.

Simko has been selected to play in the 2023 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament Feb. 6-7 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township. That event draws numerous NCAA, Pro and Junior scouts, including every NAHL team.

Simko last played in the Prospects tourney at the 16u level.

“I’m pretty excited about being chosen and the fact that it’s here this year,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there and skate on that ice.

“I want to play Junior hockey and eventually play major Division 1 college hockey. I’m hoping that’s where all of this leads.”