OHL Stock Watch: Nikita Klepov, Dima Zhilkin driving Saginaw's offensive explosion
The OHL playoff picture is starting to take shape, and for the first time since 2018, there’s a new champion in the Midwest Division.
And it was fitting that the Kitchener Rangers clinched the division title with a 4-1 win over the London Knights, who had captured the Holody Trophy for seven straight seasons. The Rangers now sit second in the league, boosted by a nine-game win streak. But it’s far from over yet: they may hold a five-point lead on the rest of the conference, but Kitchener is just three points behind the Brantford Bulldogs for first in the league. The Barrie Colts are hot on both teams’ heels as well, two points back of the Rangers and five back of the Bulldogs.
Both of the conference’s playoff teams are pretty much set. In fact, there are only two playoff spots left for grabs.
The currently eighth-place Saginaw Spirit are ten points up on the ninth-place Sarnia Sting in the Western Conference, and the eighth-place Sudbury Wolves are up 11 points on the ninth-place Brampton Steelheads in the East. Barring any of the current non-playoff teams going on a heater in the final month, it feels like they will be the final two teams bound for the postseason.
While many NHL-drafted players made waves over the last month, this edition is headlined by several NHL Draft-eligible players, starting with the line in Michigan that can’t seem to stop scoring.
Stock Rising 📈
The Saginaw Spirit’s Top Line
It was expected that Saginaw would be in tough to replace last year’s top line of Michael Misa, Igor Chernyshov, and Kristian Epperson, but the high-octane Spirit haven’t missed a beat offensively, thanks to the efforts of this year’s edition: Nikita Klepov (2026 NHL Draft), Egor Barabanov (re-entry), and Dima Zhilkin (2027 NHL Draft).
They have been the OHL’s three most productive players over the last month, combining for a whopping 65 points in 12 games. Spirit captain Zhilkin has eight goals in that span, and leads all draft-minus-one players in goals (33) and points (68) this season. His goal-scoring explosion is bolstered by a strong physical game and fearless inside-drives, all the more impressive at his 5-foot-10 stature.
Meanwhile, Klepov soared into the OHL points lead with a 22 point stretch, giving him 88 points in 62 games. He became the first rookie to win three Rookie of the Month honours in a single season since Marco Rossi in 2018-19, and could push for a top 15 selection with a strong finish to the campaign. His tanky, pacey, physical style and crafty dual-threat scoring ability make for a unique package in this year’s crop of NHL draft-eligible OHLers.
Though he is the oldest of the three, fellow OHL rookie Barabanov isn’t far behind Klepov, tied for third in league scoring with 84 points on the year. The 19-year-old was passed over in both of the last two NHL drafts, but his offensive surge has likely placed him back on teams’ radars once again.
While Saginaw isn’t expected to have a long postseason, the Klepov-Barabanov-Zhilkin line has been one of the most consistent and exciting lines in the league this season. We could see Klepov and Zhilkin at the U18s, too, representing the United States and Canada, respectively, just like they did at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last August.
Maksim Sokolovskii, D, London Knights (2026 NHL Draft)
Maksim Sokolovskii hasn’t had a huge role on a retooling London Knights team this season, but his combination of mobility at 6-foot-8 and overwhelming physicality has always intrigued our team. And now that he’s playing regular minutes, Sokolovskii looks like one of the best OHL defenders available in this draft:
“He has such a good technical foundation, and now he's using those size, mobility, and physical gifts to his full advantage. Perfectly timed closes to the wall killed rush after rush, as he conceded almost no space thanks to a tight gap and an active stick. He absorbed contact with ease, burying players in the corners, and shadowing them heavily down low. On retrievals, he was patient, didn't overcommit, and even using his agility to fake out forecheckers on a couple of instances before taking off in the other direction.” – February 28th, 2026
He’s starting to show flashes of puck skills, too – the very same enticing playmaking abilities and one-on-one moves that made him such an effective scorer in 16U last season. If he can unlock that offence in the OHL, his upside could climb even higher. He is a rawer, longer-term project than most of his peers, but he looks like a prospect worth betting on.
Honourable Mentions: Marco Mignosa (Tampa Bay Lightning), Ethan Procyszyn (Anaheim Ducks), Brooks Rogowski (2026 NHL Draft), Brody Pepoy (2026 NHL Draft), Yevgeni Dubrovtsev (2026 NHL Draft), Jaakko Wycisk (2027 NHL Draft), Aleks Kulemin (2027 NHL Draft), Ryerson Edgar (2027 NHL Draft), Levi Harper (2027 NHL Draft)
Stock Steady ↔️
The Barrie Colts
February was a very good month for the Barrie Colts. An 11-game winning streak that began at the end of January included wins over two of the best teams in the East, allowing them to clinch the Central Division and guaranteeing them no worse than a second-place finish in the conference.
The Colts are getting contributions from everywhere in the lineup, but it starts with their stars. Utah Mammoth prospect Cole Beaudoin is sixth in OHL scoring, picking up 17 points in his last 12 games. New York Islanders first-rounder Kashawn Aitcheson was named OHL Defenceman of the Month for the second straight month, continuing his goal-scoring onslaught and becoming Barrie’s all-time leading scorer amongst defenders. Not to be outdone, Dallas Stars prospect Emil Hemming also had a productive month with 15 points in ten games.
2026 NHL Draft-eligible Joe Salandra earned Rookie of the Week honours in mid-February, and trade deadline acquisitions Ben Wilmott, Parker Von Richter, and Mason Zebeski have made seamless transitions as well. Add that Ben Hrebik has been one of the OHL’s best goaltenders all season, and this team could do some damage in the playoffs, and will likely give both Brantford and Ottawa a run for their money.
Stock Falling 📉
Ryder Cali, C/LW, North Bay Battalion (2026 NHL Draft)
The way that Ryder Cali started his NHL draft-eligible season brought excitement and intrigue, as the power forward showed dynamism, intense physicality, and layers of impressive, high-end skill. Unfortunately, Cali suffered an injury in late October, forcing him to miss the rest of the first half.
Though Cali returned to the North Bay lineup after the Christmas break, he wasn’t quite as dominant to start 2026. The Battalion struggled to score as a whole, and Cali’s production slipped from 1.19 points-per-game in the first half to just 0.57 heading into last week. But after five points in three games this past weekend, it looks like his offence has returned, an encouraging sign heading into the season’s final weeks.
Still, it’s a bit concerning that Cali has only scored three goals since mid-January.
While Cali is still bringing a heavy physical game, tireless work ethic, and a 200-foot effort to his shifts, the playmaking flashes haven’t been as frequent. It has raised some questions about his long-term upside. He remains a high-floor prospect and an easy projection as a bottom-six forward, but he has the vision and playmaking to play a supporting top-six role. Continuing to produce and rediscovering the dynamism in the final month of the season could go a long way for Cali to maintain his spot inside our first round.
Carter Stevens, C, Guelph Storm (2026 NHL Draft)
One of the season’s initial biggest pleasant surprises, Carter Stevens scored at a blistering rate in the first 12 games of the season. But his production has slowed since, and he missed some time in January (including the OHL Top Prospects Game) with an injury. Once on pace for an 80-point-plus season, Stevens is now trending more towards a 40-point one. His three-point game last week was a step in the right direction, but he’s likely been passed on draft boards at this point in the campaign.
Ultimately, Stevens remains a tireless worker with impressive shooting skill and flashes of projectable physicality. His game will still bring value to NHL teams as a potential mid-to-late-round pick, and if he can add more of a playmaking element, he could improve his upside and projection.
Nathan Amidovski, C, Brampton Steelheads (2026 NHL Draft)
Traded from one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams to the second-worst, Nathan Amidovski has been given ample opportunity in Brampton. But points have been difficult to come by on the lowest-scoring team in the OHL, and Amidovski’s production has dropped from 0.65 with the 67’s to just 0.35 with the Steelheads.
Still, Amidovski’s combination of size at 6-foot-2, diverse transition playmaking game, and puck skills have continued to impress our team even in a new (and tougher) environment. Hopefully, he finds some more shift-to-shift consistency in the final month of the season. If he can, his package of skills should be enough to entice NHL teams in the middle-to-late rounds of the draft.