D Landon Dupont - Edge School U15 Prep, CSSHL U15 (2027 Draft)

[Juniorhockeyguru]

The rich get richer. Incredible how badly Everett fleeced Kamloops on the Zellweger trade. Literally set their franchise up for a decade with one trade.

Let's get a couple things straight. Kamloops had 4 great years and were at the end of their cycle which culminated in hosting the Memorial Cup.

Kamloops ends up with 17 draft picks in the next 2 years, 3 1sts next year as an example.

Kamloops will not be anywhere near the basement with 2 very strong young goaltenders, aa shit load of picks to acquire 3 strong overagers. They also have the 2nd overall pick in the import draft, and have the winningest WHL coach of all time as the associate coach and the winningest coach that is currently an active head coach.

Everett is losing a TON after this year.


Would it of been cool to of had another 2nd generation Blazer?((Dad Micki played for Blazers in late 90's) Of course, but it had to happen


Don't forget that deal wasn't just for Zellwegger, also 43 goal scoring Power Forward Ryan Hofer was included.

 

[LeProspector]

I’m so damn good at finding talent on EliteProspects. Not many others can say they started a thread on an Exceptional Status player. I can

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I’m so damn good at finding talent on EliteProspects. Not many others can say they started a thread on an Exceptional Status player. I can

i have 2 but whos counting...
congrats to you buddy.

maybe more in the future for both of us

 

[macbowes]

How I picture you guys:

 

[LeProspector]

i have 2 but whos counting...
congrats to you buddy.

maybe more in the future for both of us

Which two guys have you captured?

 

[Bubbles]

A very informative scouting report from Jason Bukala:

Future Considerations: Scouting the exceptional Landon DuPont

 

[Artorius Horus T]

He got the thing, congrats!

 

[LeProspector]

i have 2 but whos counting...
congrats to you buddy.

maybe more in the future for both of us

Which two what you gotten?

 

[Eternal Leaf]

The next Cale Makar if he develops properly. Dynamite talent.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Congrats to the kid.
Nice feather in the Edge School's cap as well.
Looking forward to following his progress.

 

[GAGLine]

Hopefully he turns out better than the last one.

 

[landy92mack29]

right decision both to grant him exceptional and for him to go the WHL path. Everett is set up insanely well to compete for the League and Memorial Cup all 3 of his years. Potentially getting Maddox Schultz next year via Kamloops and another top pick the year after won't hurt either.

 

[FWF]

Let's get a couple things straight. Kamloops had 4 great years and were at the end of their cycle which culminated in hosting the Memorial Cup.

Kamloops ends up with 17 draft picks in the next 2 years, 3 1sts next year as an example.

Kamloops will not be anywhere near the basement with 2 very strong young goaltenders, aa shit load of picks to acquire 3 strong overagers. They also have the 2nd overall pick in the import draft, and have the winningest WHL coach of all time as the associate coach and the winningest coach that is currently an active head coach.

Everett is losing a TON after this year.


Would it of been cool to of had another 2nd generation Blazer?((Dad Micki played for Blazers in late 90's) Of course, but it had to happen


Don't forget that deal wasn't just for Zellwegger, also 43 goal scoring Power Forward Ryan Hofer was included.

Coming from a hometown Kamloops kid here. If the Blazers' losses in the semis vs Seattle and that heartbreaker in the tiebreaker against the Petes didn't happen, I wouldn't be as butt hurt about them losing this pick... it stings. But as you said they recuperated their picks pretty well this year.

Kamloops will be a bottom feeder playoff team if they decide to be more competitive (I mean, they can always trade away a guy like Finnie and snag even more draft capital)

They're also in a neat situation next season, if he returns, Dylan Ernst will be the only overager on the team. With two open 04 spots, they can easily bring in someone of significant value. I know PG has a bunch of 04s that'll most likely stay in the dub next year that they'll have to move around.

And yah, back to Everett. It'll be interesting to see where they go. I think they'll manage better than Regina did with Bedard... there's no way they miss out on playoffs/don't win a round in the next three years. I hope the best for Landon though, out of all the programs to be selected by, Everett churns out lots of quality defenders.

 

[sonic92]

I like how the WHL is a lot more "selective" about the exceptional player status compared to some of the willy-nilly ones that the OHL and QMJHL have had.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I like how the WHL is a lot more "selective" about the exceptional player status compared to some of the willy-nilly ones that the OHL and QMJHL have had.

The Q has only ever had one exceptional player.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

I like how the WHL is a lot more "selective" about the exceptional player status compared to some of the willy-nilly ones that the OHL and QMJHL have had.

It's a hockey Canada thing I believe.

In both Veleno and day's case the chl and hockey Canada were concerned they would lose them and let it cloud their judgement.

Although Veleno was a good player and was capable to play at 15, I think he was probably considered at best borderline. Day never should have been granted and remains the only ES player not to be taken #1 which should be am absolute given for an exceptional player. Before HC got involved and it was just the ohl which decided, they rejected John Mcfarland on this basis by polling the GMs who could possibly pick #1 to see where he stood.

I would say the rest of the players granted were successful and deserving all thing considered.

 

[Chainshot]

The Q has only ever had one exceptional player.

As compared to the OHL, who seems to hand it out every other year now for almost 10 years.

 

[kyle44]

It's a hockey Canada thing I believe.

In both Veleno and day's case the chl and hockey Canada were concerned they would lose them and let it cloud their judgement.

Although Veleno was a good player and was capable to play at 15, I think he was probably considered at best borderline. Day never should have been granted and remains the only ES player not to be taken #1 which should be am absolute given for an exceptional player. Before HC got involved and it was just the ohl which decided, they rejected John Mcfarland on this basis by polling the GMs who could possibly pick #1 to see where he stood.

I would say the rest of the players granted were successful and deserving all thing considered.

I remember watching Day during the U17s in Sydney in 2013-14 when he was 15. He was probably the most dominant 15 year old dman with the puck, and the best skater (not to mention being 6'3 210), I have ever seen at that age. Constant end to end rushes pulling people out of their seats. In hindsight, it is fair to say that Day shouldn't have been granted ES, but I can sure see why Hockey Canada might've been "fooled" at the time. Although, I believe at the time there was speculation Hockey Canada wanted to "lock him in" to play for Canada, which probably played a role.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

I remember watching Day during the U17s in Sydney in 2013-14 when he was 15. He was probably the most dominant 15 year old dman with the puck, and the best skater (not to mention being 6'3 210), I have ever seen at that age. Constant end to end rushes pulling people out of their seats. In hindsight, it is fair to say that Day shouldn't have been granted ES, but I can sure see why Hockey Canada might've been "fooled" at the time. Although, I believe at the time there was speculation Hockey Canada wanted to "lock him in" to play for Canada, which probably played a role.

i've had these conversations before and I agree - his highs and flashes were insane, he was just super inconsistent and way too passive, he wasn't that good defensively and he would disappear way too often.

He had all the tools and he would show flashes of putting it all together, but it wasn't enough. If anything, that's the type of player you want to play another year with their own age group so they can dominate rather than push them alone. He was so raw, and it was enough to put 3 teams off from taking him. I think he had the upside but in an ES player you want them to really dominate above their class and be the unquestioned #1 pick in their draft.

 

[Mathieukferland]

I remember watching Day during the U17s in Sydney in 2013-14 when he was 15. He was probably the most dominant 15 year old dman with the puck, and the best skater (not to mention being 6'3 210), I have ever seen at that age. Constant end to end rushes pulling people out of their seats. In hindsight, it is fair to say that Day shouldn't have been granted ES, but I can sure see why Hockey Canada might've been "fooled" at the time. Although, I believe at the time there was speculation Hockey Canada wanted to "lock him in" to play for Canada, which probably played a role.

I’m glad for him that he eventually made the nhl, but having been around him and played against him and with his teammates a few times, the reputation was there that he wasn’t exactly a dedicated professional in several facets of his off-ice life

 

[bigdog16]

In hindsight it is easy to say Day wasn’t deserving. But he was a beast at 14 and had nothing left to prove at u16. The only thing that held him back was his IQ, which is tough to evaluate playing against inferior competition. But his natural talent and physical tools were greater than any ES chosen yet

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

In hindsight it is easy to say Day wasn’t deserving. But he was a beast at 14 and had nothing left to prove at u16. The only thing that held him back was his IQ, which is tough to evaluate playing against inferior competition. But his natural talent and physical tools were greater than any ES chosen yet

His natural talent was there but his ability to bring it consistently was not. Believe me I know as I remember watching Day do things I had basically never seen done before, but I also remember thinking "where did that guy go" way too much. Even at the time, he wasn't even a top 3 pick in the OHL.

So regardless of "natural talent" his actual tangible impact was probably the lowest of all the ES players. The fact that 3 teams passed on a 15 year old who would give them an extra year in favor of other players says a lot. Konecny and Strome were really, really good - but they weren't phenom level players either, and it was pretty well known that everyone had those 2 guys ranked above day for the reason that they were surefire OHL superstars and very safe picks while Day was still a mystery box and you might get the next Bobby Orr or maybe just a very good OHL player - the range of possibilities was so big. IMO that is the definition of a player who should play another year with their peers and dominate before being pushed ahead - when they clearly do have things they can work on at their current level.

But I have gone off topic too much, Dupont is a slam dunk from what I have seen as an ES player, he has truly dominated U18 as an underaged player and his skills are out of this world. That's the kind of player you can grant without second thought, the type of player who not only possesses the ability to dominate, but actually does it consistently. There would be nothing for him to improve on playing another year and it makes the most sense to put him in a league that will challenge him.

 

[bigdog16]

His natural talent was there but his ability to bring it consistently was not. Believe me I know as I remember watching Day do things I had basically never seen done before, but I also remember thinking "where did that guy go" way too much. Even at the time, he wasn't even a top 3 pick in the OHL.

So regardless of "natural talent" his actual tangible impact was probably the lowest of all the ES players. The fact that 3 teams passed on a 15 year old who would give them an extra year in favor of other players says a lot. Konecny and Strome were really, really good - but they weren't phenom level players either, and it was pretty well known that everyone had those 2 guys ranked above day for the reason that they were surefire OHL superstars and very safe picks while Day was still a mystery box and you might get the next Bobby Orr or maybe just a very good OHL player - the range of possibilities was so big. IMO that is the definition of a player who should play another year with their peers and dominate before being pushed ahead - when they clearly do have things they can work on at their current level.

But I have gone off topic too much, Dupont is a slam dunk from what I have seen as an ES player, he has truly dominated U18 as an underaged player and his skills are out of this world. That's the kind of player you can grant without second thought, the type of player who not only possesses the ability to dominate, but actually does it consistently. There would be nothing for him to improve on playing another year and it makes the most sense to put him in a league that will challenge him.

I remember watching Day as a 14 year old and thought he had nothing left to prove. He dominated every game I watched. If Veleno was in that OHL draft he wouldn't have gone #1 either.

But yes, I agree on Dupont. Kid has been lights out. There might be a bit of a learning curve for him in the D Zone, and he will for sure get burned a few times next year. But the talent is undeniable.

 

[Dominance]

Day’s development path could easily have led him to become an Ekblad-type 1D. I have zero issues with HC’s decisions to give exceptional status to Day or Veleno - rather, I think they should utilize it more aggressively to stop technically dual citizens from fleeing to the USNTDP.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Man, such a deserving recipient. I think anyone who dove into film could really see how special Dupont is. I remember when I first watched him a couple years back, I thought I was seeing Cale Makar on the ice. He is a special player who is going to be talked up for a long time going forward.