Landon DuPont discusses Michigan commitment, Silvertips exit

Published 7:15 pm Wednesday, June 24, 2026

When Landon DuPont visited the University of Michigan as part of his decision-making process for where he will play hockey next season, it invoked a familiar feeling.

After two years of making Everett his home, where he joined the Silvertips as the first overall pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft and helped the franchise win its first championship in May, DuPont realized his new home would be in Ann Arbor.

The 17-year-old defenseman officially committed to Michigan for the 2026-27 season on Wednesday, ending his tenure in Everett.

“The guys there made me feel like I was a part of the team,” DuPont told The Herald over the phone on Wednesday. “I had that same feeling I had when I first got to Everett, so I felt confident in making that decision there.”

The upcoming season will be a crucial one for DuPont, who is expected to be among the first names called in the 2027 NHL Draft, if not No. 1 overall. With Canadian Hockey League players gaining eligibility to play college hockey last season, it has become an increasingly popular development route for top NHL prospects.

Gavin McKenna headlined the first wave, playing at Penn State this past season after a prolific tenure with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. McKenna is expected to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft this weekend.

Now, DuPont becomes the latest high-profile player to enter the pipeline, and he’s banking on the experience to not only boost his stock, but better prepare him for the NHL overall.

“When you’re making that jump, especially in your draft year, you want to make sure you’re making the right decision, and they can give you the opportunity to showcase yourself and try and grow as a player,” DuPont said. “That was big in picking Michigan as well, is I fit pretty well into their lineup, and they have a good plan for me to help grow my development and (I’m) ultimately just going to try to do whatever I can to help the team win.”

DuPont said Michigan’s brass expressed to him that he’ll have to earn every minute of ice time, but they expect him to step into a top role right away. He joins a loaded Wolverines defensive corps that includes recent Memorial Cup Champion and 2025 first-rounder Cameron Reid as well as 2024 third-round pick Henry Mews.

DuPont cited the opportunity to face bigger, stronger and older competition in the NCAA as a factor in his decision. He believes it will help him improve his game both with and without the puck, repeatedly defending against and attacking larger opponents on a weekly basis.

Speaking of weekly basis, the shorter NCAA schedule is a factor many prospects consider as well. Everett played 68 regular season games, and ended up playing 91 total after its WHL Playoff run and trip to the Memorial Cup Championship. College teams, by comparison, typically play between 30-40 total games depending on postseason advancement.

With most games on Fridays and Saturdays, college players get more time to bulk up in the gym during the week. Philadelphia Flyers rookie Porter Martone raved about the NCAA schedule’s impact on his development while at Michigan State, and Silvertips captain Tarin Smith echoed his excitement about it during Everett’s exit meetings on June 2. The 20-year-old defenseman is committed to play for the University of Minnesota next season.

“Only playing 36 games and getting all week to lift and stuff like that, I think that’s probably going to be a big thing,” said Smith, who was DuPont’s defensive partner for most of the season. “And then just playing against bigger, faster, older guys. It’ll make the jump to pro a little bit easier, I think.”

DuPont agrees with that sentiment, but he also said he’ll miss not playing as many games as he did in the WHL.

“Hockey players love playing games,” DuPont said. “And in the WHL you play a lot of games, which is always fun. It’s going to be different going into next year waiting around all week to play a game. I’m sure I’m going to miss the schedule, but there’s good things about the schedule as well, like Tarin said.”

While it has been speculated for months that DuPont would head to the NCAA for the 2026-27 season, he maintained that a return to Everett was still in the mix until the very end. Silvertips general manager Mike Fraser was under that impression as well, based on discussions in his exit meeting.

Regardless, the end result is the same, and Fraser is left to fill a massive hole in the roster that he would not have had to deal with if it were two years earlier. If DuPont played in the era before CHL players received NCAA eligibility, he almost certainly would be back in Everett for a third season.

“I won’t lie, it’s frustrating, for sure,” Fraser told The Herald over the phone on Wednesday regarding the current CHL-NCAA landscape. “It’s harder to plan. … (Roster building is) starting to become a little bit year-by-year, which is frustrating, but in the same breath, it’s out of my control. If you don’t evolve with it, you get left in the dust pretty quick.

“… The flip side of it is it shows that you’re running a good program and some of those schools and pro teams, they want your players. I certainly prefer that over the opposite. It’s kind of bittersweet with some of these guys, but you just have to learn and adjust, and Landon’s a class act and has been a class act his entire time here. Maybe the most driven player I’ve ever seen. … He made his decision, and we’re certainly going to still be in his corner and wish him the best.”

While the top pair of DuPont and Smith depart for the NCAA, Fraser feels confident in what the Silvertips back end will look like in 2026-27. He confirmed that Brek Liske is expected to return. The 18-year-old stepped in for an injured Smith during the postseason and posted 17 points in 18 WHL Playoff games, raising his stock ahead of the NHL Draft this weekend.

In addition to Liske, Fraser pointed to Luke Vlooswyk and Jaxon Pisani as returners that will have the opportunity to step into larger roles, and he expects newcomer Bode Laylin, who signed with Everett out of the USHL on May 19, to play a big role as well.

“I do like our back end quite a bit, even without Landon,” Fraser said. “Obviously you don’t replace a player like him. He’s an exceptional player, and was probably one of the best players to ever play in Everett. … Those (returning defensemen) were going to be relied on, and fair to say relied on even more now.”

Before DuPont ships off to Ann Arbor, he will celebrate his high school graduation on Thursday. Having fast-tracked his education since ninth grade in preparation for playing in the WHL, taking two high school classes every summer, DuPont garnered enough credits to graduate just one month after turning 17.

Once the grad festivities are complete, DuPont will spend time in his hometown of Calgary and begin skating on Monday after taking time to recover from the ankle injury he suffered during the Memorial Cup at the end of May. DuPont said he plans to play with Team Canada in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton from Aug. 3-8, and after a few more weeks in Calgary, he’ll begin his NCAA career at Michigan.

Although DuPont is ultimately leaving Everett behind, he once again expressed how meaningful his stint was not just for his on-ice development, but his growth as a person.

“Just a lot of gratitude these past few days,” DuPont said. “I’ve been thinking about it lots, and I’m super grateful to have gone to a city and a fan base and organization like Everett. It doesn’t get much better than that in the world, and to all the coaches, teammates, fans, they made it so special.

“It’s a super hard place to leave, and it’s always going to hold a special place in my heart.”