Fresh off a sweep of Notre Dame this past weekend, the news got better for the Spartans hockey program Monday morning as 2008 born forward Nikita Klepov pledged to the Spartans. Klepov becomes the 5th 2008 player committed to the Spartans joining F Brody George, D Jonas Kemps, D Nick Bogas, and F Jack Hextall. Klepov has played in America the past two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights AAA program. Last season Klepov had 72 points in 22 games played (31 goals, 41 assists) and as a 08 has made the jump to the USHL this season playing 17 games after he was signed to a tender agreement in April 2024. Klepov is rated a 4.25 star by Neutral Zone. I would expect he is on target to arrive Fall 2026, assuming he continues to develop at this pace, and the latest I would push him back would be Fall 2027. This is a great pickup by coach Nightingale and his staff, and my DMs are already buzzing with USHL scouts saying how big this one is.
