PHOTO COURTESY EVAN MORUD EVERETT SILVERTIPS
Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont is touted as one of the top three players available in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. The reigning CHL rookie of the year will be in Medicine Hat on Saturday as the Silvertips face off against the Tigers.
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While the 2009-born Draft class are trying to take a step in the final month of their first seasons in the Western Hockey League, Landon DuPont is already looking to round out his game.
The Everett Silvertips defenceman is in his second WHL season, coming off an historic exceptional status season where he put up 17 goals and 60 points in 64 games en route to becoming the second-youngest player to win CHL rookie of the year. Crossing the 50-point plateau, he became the first defenceman aged 16 or younger to reach that threshold since Scott Niedermayer in the 1989-90 season.
DuPont says he didn’t know what to expect last year, but he’s felt like he has been able to take a step this season.
“This year I came back just having that one year under my belt and having that experience to be a leader to some of the younger guys,” DuPont said. “I feel like it’s helped me grow as a player on and off the ice, learning to develop my two-way game and become a better leader as well.”
He’s tallied 13 goals and 45 points in 46 games this season, entering play Wednesday in Edmonton against the Oil Kings. He’s not worried about points this season, DuPont has instead focused on rounding out his game, also trying to get stronger, all in an effort to be a more complete player.
“Be harder to play against, my work on my two-way game, it’s always something I’ve been taking a lot pride in,” Dupont said. “Last year it was there, but not as much as this year. I feel like this year, it’s been kind of my main focus.
“Having that offseason to get stronger, last year I was kind of just getting by. I felt like going into a corner I was just getting by and just fitting in. This year I’m competing harder, coming out with the puck in more of those battles.”
Where he’s taken his biggest strides has come against other teams’ best, facing the tougher matchups. It’s a point of pride he has, going against the upper echelon of players his elder.
“Some people may look at that and say, ‘Oh, I don’t want that,’ but for me, I want all the hardest matchups and I want to play against other teams’ first lines because that’s going to get you better,” DuPont said.
His desire to face the league’s best is one of a few traits that impresses his head coach, Steve Hamilton. In his second season with the Silvertips, Hamilton is enamoured by how they young defenceman carries himself on and off the ice.
“He just wants to be one of the guys, he is one of the guys and he’s been that since the very first day he got here,” Hamilton said. “What’s under appreciated about Landon is how good he is defensively, what a big part he is of our special teams, penalty kill, five-on-five, he takes the hardest matchups and you just don’t see 16- or 15-year-old defencemen taking on those assignments very often and doing it with the ability to then jump back on the ice and quarterback your power play.
“He’s an impressive young man and he maybe is even more impressive off the ice for who he is and what he stands for.”
DuPont and the Silvertips kicked off their Central division road trip Tuesday with a 6-3 win in Red Deer over the Rebels. It was his first game in Alberta since the 2023-24 season when he played for the Edge School, capturing a CSSHL U18 championship as playoff MVP and the league’s top defenceman.
He’s looking forward to seeing friends and family throughout the trip, especially on Family Day Monday when they play in his hometown against the Calgary Hitmen. He’s already had 50 tickets reserved for family for that game, a true homecoming. DuPont says he’s been around the province watching WHL teams and he used to travel to Red deer with his dad Micki to watch the Rebels play.
“I remember watching guys like Ben King and just thinking it was so cool, and wanting to be in that spot and now finally being here, it’s pretty cool,” DuPont said.
Tuesday’s victory in Red Deer clinched the Silvertips spot in the playoffs, something they have done every year since joining the WHL in 2003-04. They’re looking to make good on last season when they were the league’s best, capturing the franchise’s second Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions, before losing to the Portland Winterhawks in Game 7 of the second round.
He says that loss has been their fuel this season, as they lead the WHL with 42 wins and 87 points.
“During the regular season last year, everything was cool, but I feel like this year, we all we know that the regular season is cool and it’d be cool to win this Scotty Monroe trophy again , but that’s not our main goal,” DuPont said. “We’re working towards playoffs and the championship. That’s the biggest difference between the two teams.”
The Silvertips will be in Medicine Hat on Saturday to face the Tigers.
