Kirill Slepets

Kirill Olegovich Slepets (Кирилл Олегович Слепец; born 6 April 1999) is a Russian professional ice hockey winger currently playing for Amur Khabarovsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected 152nd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career
As a youth Slepets played within the junior ranks of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He made his full professional debut in the 2018–19 season, appearing in 10 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, scoring 1 goal. While showing a high offensive potential at the junior levels, Slepets was selected in the fifth round, 152nd overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Slepets continued his development in Russia, playing in the second tier Supreme Hockey League with Buran Voronezh before he was traded by Lokomotiv to Latvian KHL club, Dinamo Riga, on 13 November 2019. In the 2019–20 season, Slepets made 33 appearances with Riga, posting 3 goals and 7 points.

On 5 May 2020, Slepets was returned by Riga to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in a trade for the rights to Brock Trotter. Slepets began the 2020–21 season with Buran Voronezh, regisitering 6 points through 17 games, before leaving the club. On 23 December 2020, Slepets continued in the VHL, signing with Neftyanik Almetievsk.

Following an offensively productive tenure with Neftyanik, Slepets returned to the KHL in the off-season, securing a one-year contract with HC Spartak Moscow on 9 August 2021. After attending the pre-season with Spartak, Slepets tenure with the club was short lived as he was traded prior to the 2021–22 season to hometown club, Amur Khabarovsk, in exchange for the rights to Andrei Loktionov on 25 August 2021.

In the 2023–24 season, Slepets in returning for his third season with Amur Khabarovsk, recorded career bests with 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points through 53 regular season games. On the eve of the post-season, Slepets' NHL rights were included in a trade by the Hurricanes to the Toronto Maple Leafs alongside the acquisition of Ilya Lyubushkin on 29 February 2024.