14 year old Albertan prospect Landon DuPont granted exceptional status

Moments ago, the WHL made the official announcement that 14 year old Landon DuPont has been granted exceptional status, and will enter junior hockey next season.

The Calgary born young defenceman has absolutely dominated older competition at every level so far. With the Edge School Under 18 Team in the CSSHL, DuPont produced at an incredible rate, scoring 19 goals and 62 points in 30 games. This showing was impressive enough to earn DuPont the exceptional status, last granted in the WHL to Connor Bedard. He's the first defenceman in league history to be given the honour.




DuPont joins a small and incredible list of players to earn exceptional status, including Connor McDavid, Johnny Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, and also some lesser known players like Joe Veleno and Sean Day.

There's no guarantee DuPont will become a star in the NHL, but he's clearly on track to become one of the most highly sought after prospects in the 2027 Draft. It's crazy to already be evaluating prospects as young as 14 years old, but often times, truly gifted players do emerge early on. We'll have to see if DuPont can live up to his literal exceptional status, and follow through to the NHL draft!