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BRANDON, CANADA - OCTOBER 08: Landon DuPont #9 of the Everett Silvertips skates during third period action against the Brandon Wheat Kings at Westoba Place on October 08, 2024 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Level Draft, Landon DuPont, is reportedly headed to the college ranks for the 2026-27 season. This is a prime opportunity for Michigan to add a potentially landscape-changing player.
Here is what The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ($) recently had to say:
“It’s a poorly kept secret that he’s going to accelerate and play college hockey in his draft year next season. It’s just a matter of where. As soon as he catches his breath here, he’s going to have to decide on that destination. The sense I’ve had for the last while is that Michigan is the front-runner, and I don’t think that’s changed.”
The program has obviously done well to attract elite talent over the years, and landing someone like DuPont could help shape the future of the program’s recruiting pitch in this new era.
Wheeler continued:
“Denver has expressed interest. They’re also in the mix for top 2026 D Daxon Rudolph, and already landed D Ryan Lin, but DuPont is DuPont, and he’s the big domino to fall. David Carle has expressed publicly and privately that he feels his name constantly being linked to NHL coaching vacancies has negatively impacted Denver’s recruiting over the last couple of summers, but the talk is just that, and he has been intensely focused on the Pioneers and preparing for another run at another national championship next season.
“I don’t think you can count out Michigan State, either. According to a college hockey source, MSU commit Tommy Bleyl is currently planning to return to Moncton in the QMJHL next season, which means the Spartans have one D spot they still need to fill.”
Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects also noted DuPont is planning visits to Ann Arbor and East Lansing, while Denver and Minnesota are likely out of contention.
The Calgary, Alberta, native is an absolutely scintillating right-shot defenseman whose skating, offensive prowess and hockey senses have him among the most tantalizing prospects in recent memory.
DuPont was granted “exceptional status” to compete in the Western Hockey League as a 15-year-old, something no defenseman and only Connor Bedard (ever heard of him?) had done. He made well on that status, too, as a member of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips the last two seasons. In 2024-25, he tallied 17 goals and 60 points in 64 games before improving upon that line with an 18-goal, 73-point outburst over 63 games this season.
DuPont wore an “A” for the Silvertips, doubled his penalty minutes from 26 to 52, and is better than a point-per-game producer in the playoffs, too, where Everett recently won the WHL but fell in the Memorial Cup.
At 6-foot, 190 pounds, he is not the prototypical heavy, bully defenseman that has helped NCAA and NHL teams win championships as of late. However, when someone of this caliber has the Wolverines on his radar, head coach Brandon Naurato and his staff should do everything in their power to get him in Ann Arbor.
Beyond the gaping hole on the right side of the defense last year — which regularly saw six left-handers in the primary rotation — DuPont would have the luxury of slinging outlet passes to the likes of Michael Hage and Will Horcoff, and probably have a good chance of quarterbacking Naurato’s lethal power play.
Do you think Michigan will pull off this seismic get, or will DuPont take his talents elsewhere? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section below.
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