Spirit HockeyTuesday, November 3
Nikita Klepov is back with the Saginaw Spirit after four games with the Ducks
The Saginaw Today team
If you've been missing the OHL's reigning scoring champion, he's back. The Anaheim Ducks announced Friday that they've reassigned forward Nikita Klepov to Saginaw after four NHL games to start the season. The reigning OHL Rookie of the Year returns for the 2026-27 season, so think of it as a short road trip.
Klepov's rookie season put him at the top of the OHL
- 97
- points in 67 games last season
- 60
- assists, a new Spirit rookie record
- 4
- NHL games with the Ducks this season
- 15th
- overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft
Sources: ABC 12 WJRT-TV, wnem.com
He returns to an OHL where he's the reigning scoring champion and the winner of the Emms Family Award as the league's top first-year player. He was also a finalist for the Red Tilson Trophy, which goes to the league's most outstanding player, and he made the youngest-player-in-Ducks-history list with his NHL debut.
- Ice time with Anaheim: 13:03 per game
- Team USA: gold at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
- Also won: Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as top right winger
Klepov went from the Spirit record book to the NHL and back
- FebruaryKlepov passes Cole Perfetti's Spirit rookie record of 74 points.
- Oct. 7Klepov makes his NHL debut against the Edmonton Oilers at 18 years, 102 days.
- Oct. 30The Ducks announce they've reassigned Klepov to the Saginaw Spirit.
Sources: ABC 12 WJRT-TV, wnem.com
Sources: mlive, ABC 12 WJRT-TV, wnem.com