Four Spirit players land on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Season Rankings
Buffalo, N.Y. – NHL Central Scouting released its mid-season rankings ahead of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft on Monday evening, and the Saginaw Spirit saw four players from its roster ranked on the bureau’s list.
#16 North American Skaters – (F) Nikita Klepov
Saginaw’s leading scorer leads the Spirit on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings as well. His 50 points (23G-27A) place him fifth in OHL scoring as of Jan. 12. Klepov burst onto the scene for the Spirit in 2025-2026 after debuting as an A-rated prospect on the preliminary rankings. He registered points in each of his first six games (7G-6A—13P), highlighted by a career-best 5-point night on Oct. 4 in Owen Sound. He leads the Spirit with eight powerplay goals this season and has 13 multi-point outings.
#39 North American Skaters – (F) Egor Barabanov
Barabanov sits directly behind his right winger in scoring, with 17G-32A—49P in 41 games. He leads the Spirit in assists (32) and powerplay points (19). Barabanov’s longest scoring streak came over a six-game span beginning in late November, yielding 5G-6A—11P. His 14 multi-point games are the most of any Spirit player in 2025-2026.
#110 North American Skaters – (F) Brody Pepoy
A free agent signing out of training camp, Pepoy began this season with a ‘W’ ranking as a potential player to watch. He began to hit his stride in mid-November, after a three-point night in London on Nov. 28 spurred a run of ten points (6G-4A) in ten games. He sits third among Spirit rookies with 16 points (8G-8A) in 40 games this season.
#17 North American Goalies – (G) Stepan Shurygin
Shurygin has backstopped the Spirit to 14 wins in his first OHL season, doing so in often-dramatic fashion. The 6’5” netminder is fresh off a first-star performance in Saginaw’s 3-2 overtime win over the Spitfires on Jan 10., making 38 saves on 40 shots. He has two 40-save performances (Oct. 25, Nov.1) and leads OHL goaltenders in minutes played (2027) as well as saves (1000). Shurygin has won six of his last seven starts and has a season stat line of 14-14-2-4, 3.61GAA, and .897SV%. His #17 ranking comes after being left off NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary list.
Click here to view the NHL’s full release and rankings.
