RD Landon Dupont - Everett Silvertips, WHL (2027 Draft)

GlassesJacketShirt

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Aug 4, 2010
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Why is it end of of story? I thought that too, and then I had a realization in the past few weeks that DuPont might be that good that he’s going to make it a discussion.

Are you telling me that McDavid at 15 wasn’t a player that should’ve been in the discussion? Obviously not saying there’s a guarantee he reaches that type of level, but DuPont seems to be good enough where you have to throw his age out the window and look only at the level of play for where he should be playing.

Side note, but Dupont's early pace is more statistically significant than McDavid's at 15. The latter was barely PPG during the season and was a minus defensive player, he was 100% not worthy of consideration yet.

Having said such, while I agree with your point in theory as he's looked the part, Canada's defense has enough potential puck movers to convince Hockey Canada that "he's too young." We're talking about the most galaxy brained organization in Hockey, they have every excuse to avoid inviting him.
 

bigdog16

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Nov 7, 2013
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Side note, but Dupont's early pace is more statistically significant than McDavid's at 15. The latter was barely PPG during the season and was a minus defensive player, he was 100% not worthy of consideration yet.

Having said such, while I agree with your point in theory as he's looked the part, Canada's defense has enough potential puck movers to convince Hockey Canada that "he's too young." We're talking about the most galaxy brained organization in Hockey, they have every excuse to avoid inviting him.
Him and Parekh would be playing the same role. And barring injury I can't see a world in which they pass on Parekh for a 15 year old, even if Dupont is still lighting the world on fire
 

Andy Dufresne

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Jun 17, 2009
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JayBo made wjc at 16. Dupont's probably as good right now. Then again, Jaybo was already 6'3 and that was 25 years ago.
 

Mathieukferland

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Oct 11, 2020
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JayBo made wjc at 16. Dupont's probably as good right now. Then again, Jaybo was already 6'3 and that was 25 years ago.
The same management team is (somehow) back from last year, and they picked and extremely regressive and conservative team last year, so Dupont could be the next coming of Bobby Orr and his chances would still be 0%. Keep in mind Dave King cut a 16 year old Mario Lemieux, there is precedent
 
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Plastic Joseph

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Mar 21, 2014
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At this point I think we can say that this guy is the best 15 year old in the last 20 years going back to Crosby. Obviously sid was not an ES player but he stepped into the CHL at 16 and was clearly the best in the country so what he would have done at 15 in the Q is up for debate. But as far as all the other ES players going back to Tavares, I think Dupont is overall the best player at 15 out of all of them.

McDavid was so raw and underdeveloped physically, he had the highest upside and the most room to grow out of all of them, guys like Tavares and Wright were more physically mature and produced similar or even better than McDavid did largely due to their physical attributes. Ekblad looked almost the same as he does now. Dupont falls somewhere in that mix where he is clearly more physically developed than McDavid but he's no man child like Ekblad. He still has a lot of room to grow his game. I think he likely tops out at 5'11 or a bit more but it won't stop him, his game will be modeled after the 5'11 Makar anyway.

What he is doing is insane though, we can't really ignore it. To be a captain of the age group above yourself speaks a lot to his leadership and character too.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

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Dec 8, 2013
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Someone on one of these pages compared him to Bobby Orr, and I kind of found it a little crazy of a comment. How could he be that good?

Let me tell you, Landon DuPont is I think the best prospect I've ever watched since following the draft. I started around 2013. McDavid's year was the first I followed close. DuPont is a better prospect than McDavid. I'm honestly confident enough about that. Not projecting he'll definitely see his NHL career go as well, but at the same age he was a better prospect than McDavid and everyone since.

He's just absolutely unreal. Hard to believe his age and the things he can do. He's so damn electric and dynamic and better than every player on the ice. He makes such lightning quick and crisp decisions and executes so well with the puck, whether small area hands plays or outlet passes. He's the most offensively skilled player on the ice every shift, even as a defenseman. And I find his defending a lot better than some of the comments I've read. Not all, but some questioned how he defends. I think he defends well. Like not even a concern. It's going to be good, and there's a chance for very good defense. Great skater.

Just has it all other than only being 5'11, which isn't even small, considering his age. Was in his own universe at the WHC17. A year younger than almost everyone else, and a lot better than everyone else.
 

ConnorMcMullet

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Jun 10, 2017
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It's hard to say whether he's a better prospect than McDavid, just because McDavid was so raw at Dupont's age and you could tell that there was so much room for growth.

The question for Dupont is how much better he can get. I agree that he is a better player than McDavid at the same age, and honestly I don't think that's even up for debate. The generational tag gets thrown around way too much, but this is a rare case where that label is justified, at least at this point.
 

ORRFForever

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Oct 29, 2018
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Let me tell you, Landon DuPont is I think the best prospect I've ever watched since following the draft. I started around 2013. McDavid's year was the first I followed close. DuPont is a better prospect than McDavid. I'm honestly confident enough about that. Not projecting he'll definitely see his NHL career go as well, but at the same age he was a better prospect than McDavid and everyone since.
Wow. :thumbu:
 
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Kingpin794

Smart A** In A Jersey
Apr 25, 2012
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I think being on a really good Silvertips teams is helping his transition. It's not the reason he's so successful out the gate, but it's taking pressure off of him. Remember McDavid stepped onto an Erie team that was baaaad. It was a true trial by fire for him. And then Debrincat, and Strome and etc joined him to help take some pressure off. Not sure on Everett's time table. Will be interesting to see where they are at when Dupont is 17. I'm sure he will still be a generational talent, but maybe don't expect 150 pt season from him.
 

hockeykid87

Registered User
Apr 7, 2008
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I think being on a really good Silvertips teams is helping his transition. It's not the reason he's so successful out the gate, but it's taking pressure off of him. Remember McDavid stepped onto an Erie team that was baaaad. It was a true trial by fire for him. And then Debrincat, and Strome and etc joined him to help take some pressure off. Not sure on Everett's time table. Will be interesting to see where they are at when Dupont is 17. I'm sure he will still be a generational talent, but maybe don't expect 150 pt season from him.
Everett set themselves up for potential domination with the Zellweger/Hofer trade. That got them the Dupont pick along with multiple other first rounders. They can either use those or trade them to bolster their lineup. They will be a force for Dupont's entire tenure in the WHL.
 

Skinnyjimmy08

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Mar 30, 2012
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I can’t even imagine how dominant he is going to be in his draft year when he’s 17… it’s already disgusting how good he is right now as a 15 year old.

There is a very good chance he leads the league in points as a dman as a 17 year old in a couple years
 

TheAppleCorps

Registered User
Jul 8, 2024
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I think being on a really good Silvertips teams is helping his transition.
Absolutely no question, his D partner this season has been Eric Jamieson, a big body on the backend happy to stay-at-home, which gives Dupont a lot less pressure and some leeway to try stuff and make mistakes.

Other high-level D playing their first season have not had the luxury of playing with an NHL-drafted partner and 2 others on other pairings.
 

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