Fourteen-year-old granted exceptional status by the WHL

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Brett Thomas Wills
April 8, 2024 (6:17 PM)

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The list of players who have been granted exceptional status is a short one, as it only has eight players in the history of the entire Canadian Hockey League. However, it will grow by one more as fourteen-year-old Landon DuPont will be eligible to play in the Western Hockey League for the upcoming 2024�2025 season.

Although unconfirmed, it is expected that the Everett Silvertips will choose the 5'11, 170-pound defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, as their first overall pick. Duponts stats for The Edge School U18 Prep included 19 goals along with 43 assists in thirty regular season games played.

Those who have been drafted with exceptional status before Dupont include Michael Misa of the Ontario Hockey League Saginaw Spirit, Connor Bedard, who played for the Western Hockey League Regina Pats and now for the National Hockey League Chicago Blackhawks, Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright, who was granted exceptional status in 2019, former QMJHL forward Joe Veleno in 2015, and Sean Day, who didn't go first overall like the three before him, who was given exceptional status in 2013. Connor McDavid played with the Erie Otters in 2012 and is now arguably considered the best player in the world, playing with the Edmonton Oilers. Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was granted exceptional status in 2011; current Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was the first player to be granted exceptional status almost twenty years ago, back in 2005.

When given the opportunity to be given exceptional status, it adds a level of pressure to you that you probably have never experienced as a youngster. Many make it; some regress. A number of things have to go right for this circumstance to occur, and obviously those who have been keeping tabs on the almost fifteen-year-old Dupont believe he is ready for the next stage in his development as a hockey player.