In another surprising development for the Anaheim Ducks in the 2026 offseason, the team announced on Saturday that they signed 2026 first-round pick Nikita Klepov to a three-year entry-level contract.

The Ducks drafted Klepov (18) with the 15th overall selection a month ago with a pick they acquired from the St. Louis Blues, along with the 29th overall pick (later to become the 28th pick, Marcus Nordmark), in exchange for Mason McTavish.

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Following the first round, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek stated that had Klepov not been available at 15, the Ducks would not have made the trade and that he felt Klepov had a “fast track” to the NHL.

After those comments, nobody anticipated that the fast track would be quite so fast, as Klepov had previously committed to Michigan State University for the 2026-27 season. That will no longer be an option, and neither will the AHL, as he will not be 19 years old at the start of the season. He’ll either play in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks or return to the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

In theory, he would be eligible to play AHL games with the San Diego Gulls on a conditioning stint should he be healthy scratched for five or more consecutive NHL games.

In 2025-26, Klepov led the OHL in scoring with 97 points (37-60=97) in 67 regular season games to earn OHL Rookie of the Year honors and added five points (1-4=5) in four playoff games. To some, that may suggest he has outgrown the OHL and should be in the NHL come autumn.

The Ducks’ newest Russian winger is listed at 6-foot and 186 pounds and stated that the decision to head to the NCAA was to fill out his frame and refine the details in his game. Modeling his game after Nikita Kucherov, Klepov is an offensive dynamo, as creative, skilled, intelligent, manipulative, slippery, and tenacious as anyone in his draft, with a nose for the back of the net.

Klepov sniffs out pucks in all three zones, but is at his best when leading a cycle in the offensive zone, working low-to-high and across the top of the circles, confident and deceptive, consistently scanning for high-percentage, dangerous plays.

The Deerfield Beach, Florida native, who grew up in Russia until 2023, is eligible to play in the 2027 World Junior Championship for the United States should the Ducks be willing to loan him out, much like the Seattle Kraken developed Shane Wright in 2022-23.

The Ducks could also map out a rookie season as they had with Leo Carlsson in 2023-24, utilizing selective healthy scratches to maximize his off-ice training and avoid a mid-season fatigue wall. They had planned a similar rookie season for Beckett Sennecke in 2025-26, but Sennecke’s immediate impact, for all intents and purposes, forced the Ducks to play him every night.

Ultimately, Klepov will likely have the same opportunity Sennecke had a year ago, where his games played and ice time will be in his control. If he plays well enough and is an instant success, the Ducks won’t have a choice but to play him every night.

The Ducks will likely have some surgery to perform on their depth chart before opening night, as Cutter Gauthier remains unsigned and their cap space is limited. Troy Terry will miss the first two or three months of the regular season, and the team may need to offload a veteran forward to free some cap space, potentially opening a depth chart spot, relatively high in the lineup, for Klepov or another young forward to seize.

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