The Michigan hockey team landed one of its biggest recruits in program history today as defenseman Landon DuPont committed to the Wolverines for the upcoming season.
DuPont truly fits the description of a generational prospect. He only turned 17 in May, but he’s the frontrunner for the first overall pick in the NHL Draft next season for a reason. DuPont is one of just nine players in history to receive the ‘exceptional status’ designation from the CHL, which allowed him to enter the league a year early at age 15, and he’s more than lived up to the status. DuPont is a play-driving defenseman who also has excellent defensive skill, a strong shot and a high hockey IQ. He’s dominant in every aspect of the game.
DuPont is a Calgary, Alberta, native, but he grew up playing overseas in Switzerland and Germany where his dad, Micki DuPont, played pro hockey. When the family moved back to North America, he attended Edge School in Calgary. He posted 62 points in 30 games as a 14-year-old playing on the U18 team, and helped it win a Canadian School Sport Hockey League (CSSHL) championship in the 2023-2024 season while earning the Defenseman of the Year award. DuPont received exceptional status shortly after, and was drafted first overall by the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
In his first year with the Silvertips, Landon promptly broke the WHL’s U16 scoring record with 64 points in 60 games — a performance that earned him WHL and CHL Rookie of the Year honors. He followed it up last season with 73 points in 63 games, leading Everett to the club’s first WHL Championship and taking it all the way to the Memorial Cup final. Landon skated on a sprained ankle in the tournament and still put up six points in four games.
Landon joins a Wolverines blue line already loaded with talent, with freshman defenseman and Calgary Flames draft pick Henry Mews returning from injury and Nashville Predators prospect Cameron Reid joining Michigan as well. But Landon’s the clear best player of the three. He’ll likely run the Wolverines’ first power-play unit and will be expected to put up points.
Michigan State and Minnesota were the other teams that Landon was rumored to be considering, but the Wolverines came out on top, securing one of the best prospects the NCAA has ever seen.
