Nikita Klepov
2026 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: F, Shoots: L
H/W: 6-foot-0 / 181 pounds
Date of Birth: June 27th, 2008
Nikita Klepov’s Saginaw Spirit have had a rough year, winning just 26 of their 68 regular-season games and drawing the powerhouse Kitchener Rangers in the first round. However, that hasn’t stopped the Florida native from lining his trophy case with a wealth of accomplishments, including three Rookie of the Month honours, the Saginaw Spirit Rookie Points Record, and the Eddie Powers and Jim Mahon memorial trophies as top scorer and top scorer at right wing, respectively. He also put on a show at the OHL Top Prospects game, earning MVP honours for his goal and two assists.
Klepov is an extremely intelligent forward who, while not the most physically impressive, remains a competitor who picks off passes at a high rate, playing excellent positional defense with his stick and body. However, the highlight of Klepov’s game lies in his ability to create offense. He has great hands in small spaces to help him escape even the most bleak coffin corner traps, a shot with juice, and creative passing abilities with the skill to guide pucks around defenders.
His main weaknesses stem from his physical traits; Klepov is relatively undersized at 6'0 and is easily knocked off the puck. Klepov almost never delivers hard hits, opting to tie up opponents, although to his credit doesn’t back down from a physical battle even though he often ends up on his rear. Nikita lacks the leg strength to explode into his next gear, failing to create separation on the rush. While this assessment is harsh, a major point of context that can’t be missed is his commitment to Michigan State University next year. MSU has one of, if not the most, renowned fitness programs in North America. I don’t see him developing a killer instinct to finish his hits hard, but improving his stability and ability to reflect pressure could do wonders for his game.
Perhaps Klepov’s most impressive effort of the season came in game three against the Kitchener Rangers these playoffs. He played hard during his entire 30 minutes of ice time and showed improvements in playing with intensity while gassed. He relentlessly pursued loose pucks, won possession back for his team, and generated chances with his silky mitts. Through this report, I primarily used video from his first three playoff games and his Top Prospect Game performance to highlight his most important games.
Klepov projects to be selected somewhere in the top 25 of this year’s draft, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was somewhere near the 13-16 range. His strong production, intelligent two-way game, and solid compete, plus his commitment to a college hockey powerhouse, will appeal to many NHL GMs.
I believe it’s most likely that Klepov becomes a middle-six scorer at the next level who can kill penalties and play top power play depending on the talent of his team. His smarts and skill give him some upside, while the nature of his defensive game and solid compete will earn him coaches’ trust as he progresses up to the NHL.
Skating
Klepov’s skating is by no means high-end, but it’s also good enough to facilitate his style of play. He struggles to create separation on the rush and doesn’t have an elite second gear to his speed. I don’t see Nikita as a particularly athletic skater, but he compensates by using his hands and timing to beat defenders. A positive element of his skating is his edgework as he implements sharp cutbacks to create space and often stops on a dime to fire cross ice passes. On the forecheck, Klepov keeps his feet moving constantly, hunting down the puck.
His straight-line speed is decent and can help him win battles on the backcheck, provided he has a few steps buffer, but there’s no pop to his skating that allows him to break free after executing a deke when defenders are already in stride. Where he can create separation with his feet is in the offensive zone. After making a body fake, Klepov uses his quick acceleration to get downhill and attack shooting lanes. He’s very aware of his skating strengths and weaknesses and works his game around his skill set.
Here, Klepov gets his feet going and builds up to speed quickly in space.
Klepov’s edges allow him to execute his creative ideas and open up passing lanes. He loves working laterally.
In this clip, Nikita recognizes his teammate is calling for the puck and uses a tight spin move to evade the initial defender. The pass, however, was ill-advised and pre-planned without checking to see if a defender was poaching in the slot.
Klepov uses his feet to complete a zone entry in this clip by turning up the pace and then establishing a give-and-go with fellow 2026 draft prospect Egor Barabanov.
This isn’t a play you see too frequently from Klepov, but his acceleration to get in clean to the net is nice.
While this is a race Klepov is disadvantaged in, players with high-end skating likely turn this into at least a more competitive race, if not a breakaway.
Good idea here to open a passing lane down to the side of the net with his edges; unfortunately, there’s nobody there.
Grade: 52.5
Shot
Nikita’s shot has earned him victory in the 2026 draft-eligible scoring race, and it’s easy to see why. His quick-release wrister is dangerous to OHL goaltenders, and his one-timer is pretty powerful, generating a good amount of rebounds. He did struggle to get the one-timer on net in the late stages of the year, particularly through Saginaw’s first few playoff games, but as a whole, it’s an asset to his game.
He finds dangerous lanes and exploits weak spots on the powerpay to rifle off a high volume of shots. He is comfortable timing strikes to the slot to receive one-timer opportunities as well as teeing up from the wall.
In tight, Klepov gets his wrister off quickly and can use his quick hands to open up opportunities for himself. He targets lower sections of the net more often than many other prospects I’ve seen this year and tries to beat goalies with cross-crease movement.
Klepov sends this one-timer far too high but sets up well and gets juice on it.
Klepov takes advantage of a screen by bouncing in and out of 3 different shooting opportunities before missing the net.
Here, he unloads his one-timer off a power play setup.
Almost identical to the previous clip, Klepov sets up well and buries the one-timer through the Kitchener netminder.
He gathers this puck and fires with haste, getting good elevation and leaving the goalie no chance to make a play on this grade A chance.
Gorgeous rip across the grain to pick his spot upstairs, a good example of his use of lateral movement.
Grade: 55
Skills
Klepov’s hands are likely his strongest trait. They sustain the rest of his offensive game, opening windows for him to strike. His pass delivery and execution are perhaps the best among OHL draft-eligible forwards. The touch he can put on the puck facilitates a much quicker offense by putting pucks cleanly on the sticks of teammates in motion.
Klepov loves to play the lateral game, utilizing the cutback very frequently. He excels at getting defenders to commit to a space before cutting back across and driving past them. Even in how he approaches forechecks, Klepov uses an element of lateral deception when defenders try to play the body on him. While he does like to slow the game down, he can also think and act fast to speed it up. This versatility makes me more comfortable in my projection of the Russian American.
In small spaces, Klepov is able to sneak away with pucks using crafty dekes. He always has an escape option pre-loaded and a subsequent pass ready to go. However, when defenders use their bodies to apply pressure or lean on him, his ability to maintain control diminishes as he struggles to win battles that require physical strength.
Strong finish on the breakaway. Nikita makes it look easy with a backhand finish.
Klepov can’t hold off defenders with physicality, so he uses slippery skill moves like this to create distance. His stutter-step has left many OHL defenders in the dust over this past season.
Simple play here. Klepov uses his hands to get around the forechecker and continues the play with a give-and-go. He’s very fluid when executing a deke, often making his next move as soon as he completes it.
Here, Klepov shows off an Isaiah Thomas-esque half-spin deke to get open. Great finish with a well-placed wrister.
After an intelligent stick lift to gain possession, Klepov dazzles with some quick hands before firing a pass that ends up being a hair off. He excels in getting pucks off the wall and into dangerous positions.
Saving the best for last with this one: Klepov turns sharply to hold the line and uses his hands to find a lane. At one point, he draws in three different Rangers players before getting the pass off at the last second. His high-end hands allow him to execute deceptive and creative plays. Most notably, if there’s one area of play that’s improved over the year, it’s his dynamism.
Grade: 57.5
Smarts
Klepov’s internal map of the ice is a key factor in why he’s able to generate so many chances. By keeping his feet active and setting up his shot, he finds success both on the power play and even strength. In a more conservative sense, he also positions himself as a reliable outlet when his teammates are under pressure. He frequently puts himself in optimal positions not only to receive passes, but also to set up another play after the reception. A drawback in his on-puck smarts is his tendency to force plays after beating the first defender, he often makes a nice move to open a passing option, only to miss the secondary defender
In his own end, Klepov’s intelligence is a tremendous asset. He reads the puck carrier's intentions almost flawlessly and uses his active stick to predict the point of release for passes and shots. Although he’s not the rangiest guy, it’s noticeably difficult to get a pass off when he’s in coverage. Additionally, Nikita intelligently rotates around the defensive zone to take away the biggest threats and break up passes while keeping an eye on the puck.
The most notable example of Nikita’s high-level intelligence is his ability to step up and pick off passes in transition. Opposing defenseman beware, Klepov jumps routes like an NFL DB, regularly turning plays back up ice for odd man rushes.
Klepov has to recognize that this lane isn’t there, even if he tries to shift the initial defender off his spot.
Klepov again succeeds at drawing in defenders before kicking out the pass to Barabanov for a breakaway at the last second.
I would like to see a bit more patience in this scenario; blindly throwing the pass back into traffic is not his best play here.
Nikita’s recognition of how to complete cross-crease passes through one defender is elite. He regularly can beat defenders under the stick or by drawing a poke check first.
Klepov makes this play very frequently. He waits for the defender to load up for a pass and springs to get the takeaway. He creates a good number of chances going the other way after interceptions.
Grade: 55
Physicality/Compete
Klepov is an above-average competitor and is among the top OHL forwards in terms of takeaways per game. He pesters opponents by setting a wide base and keeps his stick active to break up escape passes. He frequently pins opponents along the boards but rarely opts for violent hits. Klepov plays well both above and below the hashes, challenging the point with his quick feet. He supports his teammates well in the slot, working hard to mirror opponents' strides, sticking to them like glue. He doesn’t have the ‘kill instinct’, skating, or physicality to force turnovers to the degree he does now at the next level, but he should be an above-average contributor on defense.
With the puck, his lack of high-end athleticism doesn’t allow him to create separation, and what concerns me further are his troubles maintaining pressure while being leaned on and contacted. He can play at a slower pace of play, and his ability to get quick passes off mitigates this weakness partially.
Good effort here to win inside position and get back in time to stop a breakaway.
Klepov gets on opponents quickly, and here finishes a check, a rare occurrence.
He closes off space with speed, setting up a takeaway which he then turns into an offensive zone possession.
Here, Klepov takes a little shot up high and then returns the favor with a reverse hit.
Strong solo effort to make things happen in the offensive zone, he follows up on his misses to earn possession for his team.
Grade: 50
OFP: 54.125
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.