2025-26 Season Preview: Saginaw Spirit
OHL Saginaw Spirit

2025-26 Season Preview: Saginaw Spirit

Published on September 9, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


The Saginaw Spirit (38-27-2-1) entered last season with the challenge of following up on a 2024 Memorial Cup championship. Despite boasting top CHL talent in Zayne Parekh and Michael Misa, their playoff run ended prematurely with a five-game first-round exit to the Erie Otters.

Now, the Spirit face another test. Both Parekh and Misa will look to earn full-time NHL roles this fall, leaving significant gaps in the lineup. To stay competitive in the Western Conference, Saginaw will lean on a young wave of talent, including Dimian Zhilkin, Levi Harper, and Nikita Klepov - all standouts in the preseason. At the same time, veterans like Nic Sima and Jacob Cloutier will be tasked with providing leadership and stability as the group adjusts.

While the roster may look different, the Spirit's mix of emerging stars and experienced contributors should ensure that Saginaw remains a tough opponent as they aim to push back into Western Conference contention.

Futures Watch - a list of some of the new faces fans should be keeping an eye on as the team prepares for the upcoming campaign.

Five Questions Heading Into 2025-26:

After a first-round exit of the OHL Playoffs last spring, the Saginaw Spirit enter the new season with some new faces and a lot to be excited about. To get a sense of what's ahead, we asked two media members who cover the team closely to weigh in on the biggest storylines for the upcoming season.

1. Who is your breakout candidate?

Dillon Clark (Play-by-play, 100.5FM WSGW): Dimian Zhilkin - Zhilkin looks primed to take an explosive step in his second OHL season. He turned heads despite losing time to injury, finishing seventh in rookie scoring in his 54 games played. Zhilkin entered his rookie season at 5'9", 160lbs. Fast forward a year, and he's grown to 5'10", 185lbs. A slighter-built, first-year Zhilkin was able to put on quite the show last season. Factor in that year's worth of experience and a considerable addition of muscle to go with his skillset, and he becomes a very dangerous player.

Jared Brown (Reporter, The Hockey News): Levi Harper - I think defenseman Levi Harper is going to have a massive season for the Spirit in his first OHL season. He was terrific at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament last month, playing a big role in the USA's gold medal victory. I think he ends up being Saginaw's quarterback on their number-one power play unit by the end of the season.

2. What's the Spirit's biggest question mark entering 2025-26?

Clark: Goaltending - It will be interesting to see what the Spirit goal crease looks like this season. Stepan Shurygin was a massive add by Dave Drinkill in the import draft. He was a workhorse in the Russian junior league last year for Molot Perm, playing the fourth-most games in the league and finishing with sharp numbers. He's explosive, athletic, and 6'5", but how will he adjust to the OHL style of play? Behind Shurygin, will it be Kaleb Papineau or Sammy DiBlasi providing secondary goaltending duties?

Brown: Goaltending - Saginaw's biggest question mark heading into the season is its goaltending. Veteran netminder Andrew Oke is gone. Can 2006-born Kaleb Papineau step up? The Spirit's goaltending wasn't a strength on their team last season, and the only change they made was bringing in the import goaltender Stepan Shurygin.

3. Who will the Spirit's top NHL Draft prospect be by the end of the season?

Clark: Nikita Klepov - Preseason or not, you're going to draw some attention when you record five assists in a single game. Nikita Klepov has already announced his presence in Saginaw this fall as a shifty playmaker, and everyone is waiting to see what he can do when the puck drops on the regular season. He's projected by many to be a late first/early second round pick come June, and there's a good chance he raises his stock further with a season of top-line minutes in Chris Lazary's system.

Brown: Nikita Klepov - Forward Nikita Klepov has quickly made a name for himself through his performance at the Hlinka tournament and in the early going of pre-season. He has a real opportunity to be a top 60 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. A sleeper I have is 2006-born Egor Barabanov, who will be entering the draft for the third and final time. He should play a top role in Saginaw and is being put in a similar situation to that of former Spirit forward Kristian Epperson.

4. Which new addition are you most excited to see?

Clark: Levi Harper - Defenseman Levi Harper was Saginaw's third-round pick in this year's OHL Priority Selection, but he might offer the most unique skillset of the team's newcomers. He plays with confidence and a desire to make plays from the blue line that seem far beyond his 16 years. His performance in Team USA's Hlinka Gretzky Cup Championship (4G-1A-5P) showed the offensive aptitude that could make him a potential steal at 52nd overall.

Brown: Miroslav Satan - Washington Capitals prospect Miroslav Satan is the one I am most excited to watch and track this season. I am very interested to see if he can unlock any untapped offensive potential after he struggled in the USHL last year.

5. Who will the Spirit's MVP be in 2025-26?

Clark: Dimian Zhilkin - This is tough because there's so much returning talent and so many newcomers who are going to thrive in the OHL. I keep coming back to Dimian Zhilkin, though. By the end of his rookie season, he looked as though he had played far more than 54 games of major junior hockey. He's continued to grow, he is constantly in motion, and he will run through anybody if he thinks there's a remote chance that he walks away with the puck. Zhilkin has the skill and style of play to be the offensive engine of this Spirit team, and I think we see quite a few nights where 71 takes the first star's lap after the final horn sounds.

Brown: Second-year forward Dimian Zhilkin is my pick to be Saginaw's MVP this season. Offensively, he's expected to lead the charge, but he's also going to drag his team into the fight every night with his feistiness and tenacious playstyle.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from September 9, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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