The Ducks have locked up their top pick from last month’s draft, signing winger Nikita Klepov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Anaheim announced the deal, though the team did not disclose financial terms. PuckPedia reports the contract carries a $1.075MM cap hit and a $1.575MM AAV, with the salary structure broken down over the three seasons.
Klepov’s path to Anaheim got a little unusual on draft night. The Ducks didn’t originally own a first-round pick, but they landed the 15th and 29th selections from St.
Louis in a deal that sent Mason McTavish to the Blues. Anaheim used No. 15 on Klepov and then moved from 29 to 28 to grab Marcus Nordmark, who signed his entry-level contract last week.
The pick came on the strength of a huge year with OHL Saginaw. Klepov played 67 games for the Spirit and piled up 37 goals and 60 assists, finishing as both the team’s scoring leader and the top point producer in the entire league. That made him just the third player to lead the OHL in scoring and win Rookie of the Year in the same season, joining Patrick Kane in 2006-07 and Jack Valiquette in 1973-74.
He also chipped in five points in four playoff games, but Saginaw was swept by Kitchener, which went on to win the OHL title and the Memorial Cup.
Klepov had previously committed in 2024 to play at Michigan State University for the 2026-27 season, but that path is off the table now that he has signed. Because he can’t play full-time in the AHL next season, his choice is either to remain in junior with Saginaw or make the jump to Anaheim. If he stays with the Spirit, the contract will slide and still have three years remaining as long as he appears in nine or fewer games with the Ducks.
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