The Anaheim Ducks wasted no time locking up their future on Saturday. They signed 2026 first-round pick Nikita Klepov to a three-year entry-level contract. The 18-year-old forward went 15th overall in last summer’s draft after the Ducks traded Mason McTavish to St. Louis to land the pick.
Klepov just finished a rookie season in the OHL that belongs in the record books. The right winger led the league in scoring with 37 goals and 60 assists for 97 points in 67 games. He tacked on a plus-9 rating and swept the league’s top rookie honors while making the First All-Star Team. But here’s the stat that jumps out: he became only the third player in OHL history to win Rookie of the Year and lead the league in points in the same season. The other two were Patrick Kane in 2006-07 and Jack Valiquette in 1973-74. That’s it.
A Florida Kid Who Left His Mark Up North
Klepov doesn’t fit the typical Canadian OHL star mold. He’s from Deerfield Beach, Florida. And he’s the first American-born player to win the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s top scorer since Jason Robertson pulled it off in 2018-19. Robertson turned into a legitimate NHL star with Dallas. The Ducks are hoping history repeats itself.
Before his breakout OHL season with Saginaw, Klepov spent most of the 2024-25 campaign with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He put up 12 goals and 19 assists in 59 games. Nothing flashy. But he scored three game-winners, which tied a franchise rookie record. He also helped Team USA win gold at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scoring the championship-clinching goal and finishing with six points in five games.
Klepov had committed to Michigan State for the 2026-27 season. That’s off the table now. The entry-level deal sends him pro. But here’s the twist: he can’t play full-time in the AHL next season. His options are either go back to Saginaw or jump straight to the NHL. If he plays nine or fewer games with the Ducks, the contract slides and keeps its three-year term intact. So Anaheim has some flexibility to ease him in.
Saginaw head coach Chris Lazary told reporters Klepov’s work ethic sets him apart from most teenagers. “He’s got that rare mix of skill and drive,” Lazary said. “He came in, worked for every minute of ice time, and ended up rewriting the record book.”
Anaheim’s front office hasn’t said whether they plan to keep Klepov on the NHL roster out of camp. But given what he just did in juniors, they likely want to get a look at him against grown men sooner rather than later. The kid’s already matched a feat shared by a Hall of Famer and a 15-year NHL veteran. Not a bad start.
He added five points in four playoff games with the Spirit. Small sample, but the production didn’t disappear when the intensity cranked up.
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