EVERETT — The Landon DuPont era of Everett Silvertips hockey officially begins now.
DuPont, the superstar prospect defenseman, signed a WHL scholarship and development agreement with the Tips, the team announced Tuesday.
It’s been a long wait for DuPont’s signature. The defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, who is just the second player in WHL history to be granted exceptional status to play full-time as a 15-year-old, was selected by Everett first overall in the WHL prospects draft in May. Since then every other first-round pick has signed with his team, and with training camp opening later this month there were concerns about whether DuPont was considering a different route.
But Tuesday’s announcement means that starting this season the Tips will feature a player considered a generational talent, whose abilities are compared to the likes of NHL star Cale Makar.
“We’re excited to have Landon and his family committed to the Silvertips,” Everett general manager Mike Fraser said in a press release. “We’re looking forward to having Landon suiting up with us this season having been granted his exceptional status. He’s a speedy, smart, dynamic player who will fit in nicely with our core group of defensemen.”
DuPont enters the WHL with more hype than any defenseman in league history, and he’s Everett’s most-heralded prospect in the franchise’s 21 years. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound DuPont, who’s the son of former NHL defenseman Micki DuPont, played up a level last season, suiting up for the Edge School U18 Prep team. Despite playing against players three years his senior, DuPont racked up 19 goals and 43 assists in 30 games during the regular season, then tallied five goals and 11 assists in five playoff contests as Edge won the CSSHL championship.
The only other player in WHL history to be granted exceptional status is forward Connor Bedard. Bedard, as a 15-year-old rookie, had 12 goals and 16 assists in 15 games with the Regina Pats during the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. He went on to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2022-23 as a 17-year-old after notching 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 games. He was selected first overall in the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks following the season, and last season as an 18-year-old NHL rookie he was nearly a point-per-game player with 22 goals and 39 assists in 68 contests.
That’s the kind of player the Tips appear to have in DuPont.
“Landon is a very exciting and dynamic young player who impacts the game all over the ice,” new Everett head coach Steve Hamilton said in the press release. “He’s an incredibly mature young man that’s ready for the transition to the Western Hockey League. Silvertip fans will love watching him develop in the years ahead.”
Everett was afforded the opportunity to select DuPont thanks to the trade that sent defenseman Olen Zellweger and center Ryan Hofer to the Kamloops Blazers at the 2023 WHL trade deadline. The Tips received Kamloops’ first-round pick in 2024 in the deal, and the Blazers finished with the league’s worst record last season. Everett was awarded the first-overall pick when the Prince Albert Raiders won the draft lottery and were only able to move up two spots to second overall.
DuPont is the third member of Everett’s 2024 draft class to sign with the team. He joins forward and fellow first-round pick Mirco Dufour, as well as defenseman and second-rounder Jaxon Pisani.
The Tips begin training camp the final week of August. Everett opens the regular season against the Vancouver Giants on Sept. 21 at Angel of the Winds Arena.
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