On the Saginaw Spirit, the scouts are always tuning in to watch Nikita Klepov. The highly-skilled Russian winger has been projected as a late first-rounder to second-rounder for the draft in the summer. But there’s another draft-eligible forward on the roster whose stock is on the rise. 

Brody Pepoy is another 2008-born rookie like Klepov. After starting the season as a third-liner for the team, he’s been elevated up to the second line alongside Jacob Cloutier and Carson Harmer since late November, and it would be wrong for Head Coach Chris Lazary to split them up. 

“The Weasel Boys,” as Cloutier calls their line, have given Saginaw a secondary offensive threat apart from Klepov’s line. 

In his first 24 games of the season, Pepoy recorded only one goal and three assists. In his last 10 games at the time of writing this, he has produced six goals and four assists. His development and confidence with the puck have been very noticeable. He’s shooting the puck a lot more, averaging 2.9 shots per game over his last ten. In contrast to earlier in the season, he only recorded 25 shots on goal in 24 games. 

“One draft-eligible player from the OHL who has really elevated their game the last month or so is Saginaw forward Brody Pepoy. Is gaining a ton of confidence with the puck, while still playing with energy/tenacity,” said McKeen’s Hockey Director of Scouting Brock Otten. 

Pepoy was a free agent invite to Saginaw’s development camp back in April. He signed with the team at the beginning of September. 

“He made an immediate impression on our management and coaching staff, earning himself an invite to our main camp,” said Spirit GM Dave Drinkill. 

Assistant GM Brian Prout was the mastermind in the recruitment of Pepoy. He identified the free agent forward as someone who could come in and be a full-time player for them. He has gone from playing Tier 1 minor hockey in the USA for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U team to becoming a top-six player for an OHL team. 

Pepoy was given a “W” grade by NHL Central Scouting in their preliminary rankings list for the 2026 draft. Scouts always want to see improvements throughout the season in a prospect's game. Pepoy has been accomplishing that tenfold.