Dupont `a superstar in the making'
WHL grants Calgary teen exceptional status to suit up in league as 15-year-old
Landon Dupont is getting an edge few phenoms have ever had in Canadian junior hockey circles.
Connor Bedard-like, in fact. The Calgarian, a star locally at Edge School, is being granted exceptional-player status to play as a 15-year-old in the Western Hockey League.
“It's very humbling, and I'm very honoured,” said the 14-yearold defenceman during Monday's news conference called by the WHL to announce the decision.
“I still have so much hard work and so much room to fill. It's just one of the steps to the next level. So I'm really excited to get things going and keep working my hardest to see where it goes.”
The end game, of course, is to reach the NHL.
With Monday's announcement comes the rare chance for him to work on that goal as a much younger full-time prospect than pretty much everyone else in the junior game.
Specifically, the status exempts Dupont from the usual WHL age-eligibility rules that follow for a draftee by being able to play more than five top-tier junior games as a 15-year-old.
In fact, he can play the entire season next year as a Grade 10 student — something only eight others in Canadian Junior Hockey League history have been granted before him.
The only other player to be given such special privilege by the WHL is Bedard, from whom Dupont received a video message Monday.
“I almost blacked out,” Dupont said. “It's been amazing to see what he's done and what he keeps doing. He just told me to keep having fun and keep being a kid.”
The Ontario Hockey League previously awarded exceptional status to John Tavares (2005), Aaron Ekblad (2011), Connor Mcdavid (2012), Sean Day (2013), Shane Wright (2019) and Michael Misa (2022), while Joseph Veleno (2015) was given that status by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“Unreal,” said Dupont, who becomes the first exceptional-status defenceman in WHL history. “Those guys have done so much for the game of hockey. They've been role models to so many young kids out there. And just to be associated with those names is something special.” Dupont's current coach,
James Poole of the Edge School Under-18 Prep Mountaineers — a Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) team based just west of Calgary — said the honour is in line with the young defenceman's trajectory in the sport.
“Landon's special,” agreed Poole. “He's a superstar in the making. He's the real deal. For a defenceman to do what he does and how much the game revolves around him, it's just so special.”
This past season Dupont — who has modestly described himself as “an offensive D-man that skates alright” and is “pretty smart with the puck” — set a record for blueliners in the CSSHL'S U18 Prep division with 19 goals and 43 assists in 30 games.
“It's just amazing at Edge,” Dupont said. “Every day you go, you're just excited to play hockey. The teachers are all dedicated to making you better people.”
He also led Edge to a second straight championship, with 16 points, including a record 11 assists, in five playoff games to tie the U18 Prep Western Championships high mark.
“Cale Makar (of the Colorado Avalanche) comes to mind, about how much the game revolves around him,” Poole said. “So I really compare Landon to that player. Everyone likes to say their guy is Cale Makar. But I think we've got the real deal here that legitimately plays like him and can actually take over a game like him.”
The exceptional status, however, isn't just about Dupont's ability. There's more to it than simply on-ice potential that goes into the decision, say junior hockey officials.
“The term `exceptional' is not reserved just for a player,” said Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond. “The term `exceptional' is reserved — equally important and maybe more important — for the person.
“And so certainly when you watch Landon play, you're drawn to his skill, his skating, his talent, his edge work and his vision on the ice. But when you have an opportunity to meet him and talk to him and get to know him a little bit, you also understand the idea of exceptional character, exceptional integrity and exceptional maturity, which — for a 14-year-old young man and for a 15-year-old to play in the league next year with 20-year-olds — is incumbent (to this decision). It's the most important thing.”
Dupont's dad, Micki, played 18 games for the NHL'S Calgary Flames over two seasons in the early 2000s.
All totalled, the elder Dupont skated in 23 games, tallying four points — with the Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues. Before that, he earned the 2000 CHL Defenceman of the Year honour.
“Completely different. I wasn't the player Landon is now,” said the elder Dupont. “Same path: the WHL. But a completely different path. I was never this good, I think.”
Of course, his son is expected to be the top selection overall in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft on May 9, with the Everett Silvertips owning that choice. It was acquired in a trade-deadline deal made last year with the Kamloops Blazers.