Film Room: How rookie Nikita Klepov won the OHL scoring title in his NHL draft year
A rookie within his first two years of OHL eligibility hadn’t won the league scoring title since Jack Valiquette did so back in 1973-74.
Enter Nikita Klepov.
The winger exploded onto the OHL scene alongside linemates Egor Barabanov and Dima Zhilkin. He kicked off his OHL career with a three-point outing in his first game, and followed that up with a six-game point streak and his first career five-point game less than a month into the campaign. His torrid production rarely slowed all season, and he never went more than two games without recording a point.
Finishing the campaign with 37 goals and 97 points in 67 games, Klepov became the first American-born player to win the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy since Jason Robertson in 2018-19, and it was the second straight year that a Saginaw Spirit player won the title, after Michael Misa did so just one season ago. And though Saginaw exited the postseason after a sweep by the Kitchener Rangers, Klepov led the Spirit with five points in those four games, too.
On the best line in the league?
Understanding Klepov’s offensive production this season starts with the remarkable chemistry he had with his linemates.
To put it simply: no other OHL line produced like the Zhilkin-Barabanov-Klepov trio this season. They were the only line in the entire league to play over 600 minutes of ice time together during the regular season, according to InStat Hockey. The OHL’s next most frequently deployed top line in Flint played a little under 500 minutes together.
Saginaw scored 36 even-strength goals when their top line was on the ice (matching the production of Brantford’s top line, though that trio played around 350 minutes together). That accounted for over 22% of the Spirit’s even-strength goals across the entire campaign, and doesn’t include the clinical success they had on the power play or penalty kill (Klepov and Zhilkin scored five of Saginaw’s six shorthanded goals).
Now, top-sixes and top lines will fluctuate over the course of a season, whether through trades, injuries, or general lineup shuffling during games, all of which will affect the amount of time that ‘top’ lines spend on the ice together. That the Spirit were able to keep their top line together for pretty much the entire season is impressive on its own.
But Klepov’s versatile game was built for Saginaw hockey. On a team that relies on entry delay plays to threaten and pressure offensively instead of dumping and chasing to establish the forecheck, Klepov proved to be the perfect complement to Barabanov, who can sometimes be more passive, and Zhilkin, whose offensive zone attacks can really only be compared to a rabid dog in pursuit of pucks. Consistently switching between staying above the puck and getting open in support, regularly carrying the puck into the offensive zone, and being willing to battle and cycle himself made Klepov quite the versatile creator.
There will be more examples of Klepov’s chemistry with Barabanov and Zhilkin in the following videos, but Klepov also proved to be able to create with any of his teammates this season.
Dual-threat scorer
At the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last August, Klepov showed elite offensive elements in moments, but wasn’t able to find that level of consistency in such a short tournament. However, those flashes were exciting enough and hinted at his potential to be an OHL scorer. I noted in an August game report that “With tools, habits, physical skills, and flashes of dynamism, Saginaw is the perfect place for him this season to take his offensive game to the next level.”
And take it to the next level, he most certainly did.
In line with Saginaw’s transition game, Klepov was a force carrying pucks through the neutral zone. Though he could defer to his linemates to gain the zone, and was capable of working fast give-and-gos, Klepov typically preferred to gain the offensive blue line himself, backing defenders up with his speed, creating space for his linemates and openings in coverage. From there, he would either cut back before delivering centring feeds off the walls, move laterally to the high slot himself, or drop his shoulder and engage a defender before taking the puck to the net. His zone entries were unpredictable and tough for defenders to neutralize.
Klepov’s shooting skill was on display all season long. Slippery movements and intelligent reads made him a lethal off-puck finisher from mid-range, whether off the high cycle or in quick transition plays, following the play into the zone as the F2 or F3. And with a wicked one-timer in his arsenal, he needed little time to step into shots from point-blank range.
While Klepov could be a bit trigger-happy at times, as the puck carrier, he was lethal. With a nasty-releasing wrister and the ability to fire in stride, shoot through triangles, and find the tightest of shooting lanes through traffic to the net, Klepov was capable of beating goaltenders from anywhere on the ice.
And though it took some time to show up consistently, Klepov’s playmaking emerged as a defining skill in his toolkit, particularly in the second half of the season. Processing the play extremely quickly, he combined crafty feints and baits, weight changes and lateral shifts, and delays to freeze defenders, before threading passes through the slot.
By the end of the campaign, Klepov had established himself as an elite dual-threat scorer in the OHL. While he may have been in one of the more optimal offensive situations in the league, his intelligence, vision, adaptability, and puck skills combined to make him a remarkably efficient offensive creator and a nuisance for opposing defences to contain.
Motor, physical skills, & skating
What separates Klepov from other elite junior scorers is his motor and contact skills. He engages opponents at every possible opportunity when carrying the puck, attacking at angles, reading momentum and moving defenders laterally as he cuts to the middle, and maintaining control even when under extreme pressure.
He can overhandle in moments, but almost always has solutions in those situations, where he finds himself driven to the boards. Unfazed by pressure and checks, Klepov absorbs contact with ease without losing the puck, largely thanks to his slippery and slick handling ability. His puck protection skills allow him to thrive on the cycle and escape off boards to the middle of the ice.
Klepov’s details also serve him well when his team doesn’t have possession. A staunch defensive winger, he sets picks, backchecks intensely, and fights for every puck touch. With his head on a swivel, he will circle low in support before engaging puck carriers, lifting sticks, and absorbing checks before emerging with possession and kick-starting the rush up ice.
With an engine-like motor, Klepov never stops. He’s almost always the first forward back to support defensively, and usually the primary attacker when leading the rush. And though Saginaw doesn’t often dump-and-chase the puck, he’s more than capable of playing that style of game, too.
If there’s one area for improvement for Klepov in the next couple of seasons, it’s likely his skating. But there aren’t really any major fixes required here. At times, he lacks a bit of depth and dynamism in his edges and could stand to lengthen his stride more, but he still generates an impressive amount of power in his strides.
He’s more than capable of pulling away from opponents in open ice at this level, and he has the contact skills to be able to absorb defenders who close on him. However, at just 6-foot, Klepov should continue to add more explosiveness out of his crossovers. It would make him a more efficient mover and go a long way to helping his puck skills translate to the next level, while also bolstering his pace, physical skills, and checking potential.
Long-term projection
So, what type of player is Klepov in the NHL? That’s been the major debate point in our scouting team discussions all season, and opinions vary. While he proved to be an effective play-driver and offensive producer in junior, there were some concerns that he may not have as easy a time translating his game to the NHL.
At times, Klepov’s decisions with the puck can leave you wanting more. He can hold onto possession for too long and miss more obvious plays. He can also be too straight-lined and linear in transition, and also operate at a bit too low a pace. And it is worth wondering whether or not Klepov would have had the same offensive success in a less forgiving OHL environment this season.
While these are all fixes that shouldn’t require too much difficulty implementing under the right coaches moving forward, Klepov’s game does need some calibration to become an effective producer in the NHL. Should he be able to make those changes to his game, he could find a top-six role down the road.
As for Klepov’s floor, if his offence doesn’t translate, it’s more likely that he’ll become a middle-six or bottom-nine utility forward. With a strong B-game, he has the physical skills and details to play as a checker, staying above the puck in defensive support and impacting the game with intensity, energy, and his gritty, tank-like style.
At the moment, Klepov’s commitment to Michigan State appears to be for the 2027-28 season. Whether he returns to Saginaw next season or decides to become a Spartan early, the more time Klepov spends in development leagues before turning pro, the better it will be for his long-term projection and future success.
Ultimately, the body of work that Klepov has put together this season, coupled with his intelligence and adaptability, instills a decent amount of faith that he will find a way to iron out the kinks in his game and produce in the NHL.
Even if only one thing is for certain at this point, let it be this: Klepov will become the fourth Spirit player drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft in the last five years, which is the perfect way to cap off one of the best rookie seasons in OHL history.
