The WHL, OHL and QMJHL are home to some of the best young players in the hockey world, but every so often comes a player with incredible hype, and we may have now found another. Players like Sidney Crosby, Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid, John Tavares and so many others have starred at this level, but only twice in history has a player entering the WHL been granted exceptional status.
Being granted that status allows a player to enter the league at a younger age than is required, and after Connor Bedard was the first in WHL history (seven players in the OHL including Aaron Ekblad, McDavid, Shane Wright and Tavares have been granted this status), we now have another. On Monday after heavy rumours, Landon DuPont, son of former NHLer for 23 games Micki DuPont has now officially been granted exceptional status, and is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WHL Draft, making him 15-years old when the season will begin.
Last season, DuPont at just 14 years of age played for the Edge School U18 in the CSSHL, tallying a ridiculous 62 points in 30 regular season games with a further 16 in 5 playoff games. Often, players like this come with plenty of hype and flame out, and while this can always happen, DuPont has all the tools necessary to be a star, so there will no doubt be plenty of eyes on the upcoming 2024-25 WHL season.
