As if the Vancouver Canucks needed more incentive to be bad again next year.<\/p>\n
Trading away the best defenceman in franchise history has cast a cloud over the organization. Whether you like the return or not, the fact that they were in that spot originally is a colossal failure.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there\u2019s a light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n
All could be forgiven if the Canucks were to somehow land the first overall pick in 2027, giving them a chance to draft a potentially generational defenceman in Landon DuPont.<\/p>\n
The 16-year-old defender is already one of the best defencemen in the WHL, largely controlling the pace of play despite being one of the youngest skaters on the ice.<\/p>\n
He was the first defenceman to be granted exceptional status in the league. DuPont lived up to the hype, posting 60 points in 64 games as a 15-year-old.<\/p>\n
In 2024-25, he became the first rookie WHL defenceman aged 16 or under to record 50 points since Scott Niedermayer did so in 1989-90.<\/p>\n
This season, he\u2019s continued to shine. DuPont ranks fifth in the WHL among defencemen in scoring. His 1.16 points-per-game this season is ahead of both Ryan Lin and Daxon Rudolph, both of whom are potential top-10 picks in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n
Not only is DuPont the consensus No. 1 overall pick in 2027, but his favourite team may have the best chance at drafting him next season.<\/p>\n
Last summer, DuPont was asked in a clip posted by the NHL what his favourite team was.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the Vancouver Canucks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Get to know the projected first overall pick in the 2027 #NHLDraft<\/a>, Landon DuPont! \ud83d\udc4b #NHLYoungStarsWeek<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hmWD5JlWIU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n That clip was posted before the Canucks traded Hughes, and that decision seems to have tested DuPont\u2019s fandom.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I\u2019m sort of a Canucks fan,\u201d DuPont told\u00a0The Athletic<\/a>. \u201cThough ever since [Quinn Hughes] got traded, I don\u2019t know if I still want to be with them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got Zeev Buium, though, and I really like his game!\u201d<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the only occasion where DuPont expressed affection for the highly touted Canucks rookie blueliner.<\/p>\n