Nikita Klepov’s breakout season with the Saginaw Spirit has him positioned as a first-round prospect for this year’s NHL Draft, after a rapid adjustment to North American hockey and a productive OHL campaign that earned him rookie of the year honours.
When the Toronto spring tournament brought Alex Vasko face-to-face with Nikita Klepov before the world went quiet for COVID-19. it wasn’t just a talent sighting. It was the spark for a hockey pipeline Vasko would later help grow—one that now has Klepov in the spotlight as a first-round prospect for this year’s NHL Draft.
Vasko was watching in Toronto with a Pennsylvania youth team when the Ukrainian-born forward—playing with a home team from Russia—made an immediate impression. Vasko. whose own ties to the former Soviet Union Hockey Training School have shaped how he scouts and recruits. quickly saw a fit for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights.
Klepov didn’t cross the ocean until his U-15 year in 2023-24, but the connection started that day. Vasko remembers how fast Klepov found his footing once North America hockey demanded a different kind of timing.
“It’s different hockey, all different things. He came at the right time because he needed time to adjust to North America. ” Vasko said in a telephone interview. “Usually it takes two years from players from Europe to figure out how the North American (game) works but he really (excelled) in one year. He had a good level.”.
Klepov’s path has been rooted in movement and comfort, not sudden shocks. He was born in the Miami area in June 2008 while his parents were visiting relatives. then moved back to Russia with his family before he turned one. Returning to North America for his pre-draft years brought a practical advantage for him and his family: working with Vasko and other Russian players in Pennsylvania.
That kind of familiarity matters to Klepov. He has followed a route that has already been proven by another high-profile Russian import from the Flyers’ past—defenceman Ivan Provorov. who spent parts of three years in Pennsylvania with Vasko before moving to the Brandon Wheat Kings after the WHL selected him in the CHL Import Draft. Philadelphia took Provorov seventh overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, and he now has 778 career games under his belt.
“It was kind of smooth for me. had good friends there (in Pennsylvania). ” Klepov said in a telephone interview from his home near Moscow. “I played with some of the guys there back in Russia. It was really fun for me. I really enjoyed my first year in the U.S., liked it a lot. I think because of the friendship I had there with Russian guys and the U.S. guys as well, it was pretty easy for me.”.
His U.S. hockey entry point started in the USHL. The Sioux City Musketeers tendered Klepov for the 2024-25 season. In 51 games, he finished with 12 goals and 19 assists.
The next step moved him deeper into the CHL pipeline. The Saginaw Spirit selected Klepov 35th overall in the 2025 CHL Import Draft after his season with the Musketeers. Spirit general manager Dave Drinkill had been scouting him in Wilkes-Barre and described wanting to draft him high in the 2024 OHL Draft. but Klepov was ruled an import at the time—presumably because of his parents’ residence. Players aren’t eligible for the Import Draft until a year later.
When Drinkill talked about why Klepov’s choices and timing mattered, the message was simple: the fit and the opportunity lined up.
“I know he liked where he was in the USHL and there was a consideration whether to come here or not, but ultimately he decided to come here and the rest is history,” Drinkill said of Klepov, who played for Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18 tourney in the summer before reporting to Saginaw.
That choice is now paying off in a way that’s hard to ignore. Klepov’s season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit has put him in the kind of position every NHL GM watches for—elite production, earned as a rookie.
Klepov has become just the third CHL rookie to lead a member league in scoring since 2000. The other names are Patrick Kane, who led in 2006-07 with London, and Sidney Crosby, who did it in 2003-04 with Rimouski.
In Saginaw, he didn’t just post numbers—he carried a young group to a meaningful place. Playing on a team that ended up in the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Klepov recorded 37 goals and 60 assists in 67 games. Those results earned him the OHL rookie of the year award.
Klepov’s scoring race was not a narrow margin. He finished 13 points ahead of Brantford Bulldogs star Caleb Malhotra, a centre who is projected as a top-five pick in the NHL Draft.
Drinkill framed it as the toughest kind of production: the kind built against the best.
“He was against teams’ best D pairing every game. He wasn’t insulated on the third line, you know what I mean. He was always pushed against other teams’ best players and he succeeded,” Drinkill said. “He really took off as a young player. For him to lead the league in scoring and be rookie of the year and put up 97 points in our league as a first-year player in the league is extremely tough to do.”.
The reasons behind the numbers, in Drinkill’s view, go beyond skill on paper. Klepov’s IQ and vision stand out.
“He kind of can create from nothing. Sometimes I feel like you’re in the o zone. he’s got great hands. he hangs on the puck and kind of finds a way to make a play or gets to the middle of the ice to get a better opportunity for a shot off. He seemingly can score from anywhere. … I really think his ability and IQ to create and play when you think maybe there’s nothing there kind of brings you out of your seat as a fan or even as a GM watching from above.”.
For Vasko, the growth doesn’t surprise him. He points to the work ethic that followed Klepov even outside the spotlight.
Vasko remembers Klepov coming to visit him for extra practice during a break in the USHL schedule.
“He’s always working … He’s not a guy who just sits and does nothing,” Vasko said. “He’s always looking to do something — stickhandling, shooting, something.”
Even with the draft hanging in the air, Klepov is not acting like someone waiting for permission to dream. He is still deciding whether to start at Michigan State next season or return to Saginaw, but he isn’t one of those players losing sleep ahead of the NHL spotlight.
He is also taking a break from international hockey while he awaits word on any changes to Russia’s eligibility.
Klepov’s readiness has been clocked by scouting lists too. He was 18th in Sam Cosentino’s draft rankings for Sportsnet last week.
As the NHL Draft approaches, the schedule itself adds a personal deadline to the storyline. Klepov is coming to Buffalo for the weekend, and he figures to get an early birthday present. He turns 18 on June 27, Day 2 of the draft.
“I just want to play in the NHL,” Klepov said. “It’s doesn’t matter where or when I’m going to get picked.”
MISRYOUM Sports News NHL Draft Nikita Klepov Saginaw Spirit OHL scoring champion Dave Drinkill Alex Vasko Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights USHL Sioux City Musketeers Ivan Provorov Michigan State Hlinka Gretzky Cup