photo: © Hockey Canada
Hockey analysts and pundits too often throw out the term “generational” when referring to an up-and-coming star. Generational may imply that there can be only one player doing the things he does, per generation. Think Howe, Gretzky, Crosby...
This generation already has a Bedard and Celebrini so we aren’t going to throw that label on one of Canada’s players to watch should he compete at the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship. But, what defenceman Landon DuPont is doing in the Western Hockey League this season is, well, generational.
You see, the last time a rookie defenceman reached 50 points in a WHL season came in 1989-90, when Scott Niedermayer accomplished the feat with the Kamloops Blazers. Niedermayer, one of Canada’s all-time greats, was inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame and IIHF Hall of Fame once his storied NHL career came to a close.
That DuPont is doing what he’s doing as a 15-year-old in a league generally reserved for 18 and 19-year-olds (even some 20-year-olds) is that much more impressive. Niedermayer was 16 as a rookie in the WHL.
“It’s a jump for sure. It took me a few games and a lot of work to get my confidence in the game and realize ‘hey I’m here, playing with these guys, these are my teammates’ and ‘I’m here for a reason’,” says DuPont, a well-spoken, humble teenager. “After about 10 games, you know what to expect when you’re going into a game and the leaders on my team and coaching staff have really helped me get my feet wet in the league. I’m just trying to do my best to help the team win.
“It doesn’t matter who I’m playing against, who I’m playing with, what age I am, what age they are. I just like to go in there with 100 per cent effort and see what happens.”
DuPont is used to the spotlight already and used to playing with and against players older than him. During the 2023-24 season, DuPont was 14 and played for the Edge Mountaineers U18 Prep Team in Calgary, which competes in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. The U18 league comprised mostly athletes born in 2006 and 2007 – DuPont is a 2009-born hockey player.
All he did that season was lead Edge in scoring (again, from the back end) with 62 points in 30 games, a mere two points behind the league scoring leader. In April 2024, DuPont was granted exceptional status by the WHL, becoming the second player and first defenceman to receive that designation. Exceptional status allows a player to compete full-time in the WHL, bypassing regular age eligibility rules. Conor Bedard is the only other player to have ever received exceptional status.
DuPont and his Everett Silvertips are currently atop the WHL standings and he’s hoping for a long playoff run that concludes with a Memorial Cup Championship, awarded to Major Junior champion in the Canadian Hockey League (the WHL is one of three leagues that comprise the CHL).
DuPont’s success with his club team could come at a cost for international hockey fans, though. With the IIHF WM18 scheduled for late April 23 to May 3 in Texas, there’s a chance DuPont won’t be part of Team Canada if the Silvertips are still in the thick of the WHL playoffs.
Whether it’s this April or sometime later, though, we will get a chance to see DuPont in a best-on-best. He’s already represented Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and is a surefire bet for Canada’s U18 team that will compete at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Czechia/Slovakia in August. There’s also not much doubt that DuPont will be in the mix for a spot on Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship next December and January.
A unique aspect of DuPont is that, while he’s a proud Canadian, he also has international roots. His father Micki spent four seasons in the WHL before embarking on a pro career in the American Hockey League and NHL. From then, he went to Europe and played almost 700 games in Germany and Switzerland, for Berlin, Zug EV and Kloten. Landon spent a lot of his childhood in those countries and one of his youth teams was Eisbären Juniors Berlin.
“My dad was a hockey player and I have an older brother (Nolan, who plays in the Alberta Junior A Hockey League) who is three years older than me. They’re a huge impact on me,” says DuPont, whose dad Micki played in the 2006 IIHF World Championship and 2012 Spengler Cup for Canada. “I used to go and watch them play and that’s when I learned that I wanted to become a hockey player just like them. One of my first memories is when my dad was playing over in Europe, I remember in Switzerland, there was an outdoor rink and I remember just skating around and my brother and my dad having fun with me. Just those moments with them really grew my love for the game.”
Search 2027 NHL Entry Draft and there are already references to DuPont becoming the first overall pick. That draft is more than two years away and having that sort of attention and spotlight could put a lot of pressure on any young athlete. But DuPont takes it all in stride and focuses on simply improving and enjoying the game.
“You just try to zone it out as best as you can. You play hockey to have fun and meet new people and have fun with your buddies,” he says. “Just showing up to the rink every day and having that as your mindset instead of ‘hey, I gotta beat this guy out or I gotta do this and this’. Having a great time while you’re doing that and obviously you want to get better each and every day. That’s my mindset.”
So, generational? You can be the judge.
This generation already has a Bedard and Celebrini so we aren’t going to throw that label on one of Canada’s players to watch should he compete at the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship. But, what defenceman Landon DuPont is doing in the Western Hockey League this season is, well, generational.
You see, the last time a rookie defenceman reached 50 points in a WHL season came in 1989-90, when Scott Niedermayer accomplished the feat with the Kamloops Blazers. Niedermayer, one of Canada’s all-time greats, was inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame and IIHF Hall of Fame once his storied NHL career came to a close.
That DuPont is doing what he’s doing as a 15-year-old in a league generally reserved for 18 and 19-year-olds (even some 20-year-olds) is that much more impressive. Niedermayer was 16 as a rookie in the WHL.
“It’s a jump for sure. It took me a few games and a lot of work to get my confidence in the game and realize ‘hey I’m here, playing with these guys, these are my teammates’ and ‘I’m here for a reason’,” says DuPont, a well-spoken, humble teenager. “After about 10 games, you know what to expect when you’re going into a game and the leaders on my team and coaching staff have really helped me get my feet wet in the league. I’m just trying to do my best to help the team win.
“It doesn’t matter who I’m playing against, who I’m playing with, what age I am, what age they are. I just like to go in there with 100 per cent effort and see what happens.”
DuPont is used to the spotlight already and used to playing with and against players older than him. During the 2023-24 season, DuPont was 14 and played for the Edge Mountaineers U18 Prep Team in Calgary, which competes in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. The U18 league comprised mostly athletes born in 2006 and 2007 – DuPont is a 2009-born hockey player.
All he did that season was lead Edge in scoring (again, from the back end) with 62 points in 30 games, a mere two points behind the league scoring leader. In April 2024, DuPont was granted exceptional status by the WHL, becoming the second player and first defenceman to receive that designation. Exceptional status allows a player to compete full-time in the WHL, bypassing regular age eligibility rules. Conor Bedard is the only other player to have ever received exceptional status.
DuPont and his Everett Silvertips are currently atop the WHL standings and he’s hoping for a long playoff run that concludes with a Memorial Cup Championship, awarded to Major Junior champion in the Canadian Hockey League (the WHL is one of three leagues that comprise the CHL).
DuPont’s success with his club team could come at a cost for international hockey fans, though. With the IIHF WM18 scheduled for late April 23 to May 3 in Texas, there’s a chance DuPont won’t be part of Team Canada if the Silvertips are still in the thick of the WHL playoffs.
Whether it’s this April or sometime later, though, we will get a chance to see DuPont in a best-on-best. He’s already represented Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and is a surefire bet for Canada’s U18 team that will compete at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Czechia/Slovakia in August. There’s also not much doubt that DuPont will be in the mix for a spot on Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship next December and January.
A unique aspect of DuPont is that, while he’s a proud Canadian, he also has international roots. His father Micki spent four seasons in the WHL before embarking on a pro career in the American Hockey League and NHL. From then, he went to Europe and played almost 700 games in Germany and Switzerland, for Berlin, Zug EV and Kloten. Landon spent a lot of his childhood in those countries and one of his youth teams was Eisbären Juniors Berlin.
“My dad was a hockey player and I have an older brother (Nolan, who plays in the Alberta Junior A Hockey League) who is three years older than me. They’re a huge impact on me,” says DuPont, whose dad Micki played in the 2006 IIHF World Championship and 2012 Spengler Cup for Canada. “I used to go and watch them play and that’s when I learned that I wanted to become a hockey player just like them. One of my first memories is when my dad was playing over in Europe, I remember in Switzerland, there was an outdoor rink and I remember just skating around and my brother and my dad having fun with me. Just those moments with them really grew my love for the game.”
Search 2027 NHL Entry Draft and there are already references to DuPont becoming the first overall pick. That draft is more than two years away and having that sort of attention and spotlight could put a lot of pressure on any young athlete. But DuPont takes it all in stride and focuses on simply improving and enjoying the game.
“You just try to zone it out as best as you can. You play hockey to have fun and meet new people and have fun with your buddies,” he says. “Just showing up to the rink every day and having that as your mindset instead of ‘hey, I gotta beat this guy out or I gotta do this and this’. Having a great time while you’re doing that and obviously you want to get better each and every day. That’s my mindset.”
So, generational? You can be the judge.