There will be plenty of eyes on Prince Albert on Friday as two of the top young defenseman in the entire CHL will face off head-to-head for the first time in their WHL careers.
Daxon Rudolph and Landon DuPont are the two most recent players to hear their names called first overall in the WHL Prospects Draft. Rudolph was taken by Prince Albert in 2023 while DuPont was selected by the Everett Silvertips in 2024.
Last season in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) U18 Prep Division, the pair stood alone atop the leaderboard of points scored by defenseman by a wide margin. DuPont finished with 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists) in 30 games for Edge School, while Rudolph had 59 points (22 goals and 37 assists) in just 28 games for the Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) program. The next closest player, Nicholas Morin, had 38 points.
The two have never played on the same team, but have gained a mutual respect playing against each other often. Rudolph says the two have made a connection off the ice thanks to the power of social media.
“We’re pretty good buddies. We’ve never played on the same team, but we’ve played against each other for the past three, four years now. We’ve developed a pretty good relationship and have some mutual friends that we’re really good friends with. We know each other and we’ve been texting a bit leading up to the game and hopefully we come out on top.”
Through the first four games of his WHL career, Rudolph has registered one goal and one assist. His first WHL goal was a game tying goal late in the third period against the Regina Pats on opening night.
In three games for the Silvertips, DuPont has recorded four assists and is still looking for his first goal in the WHL. DuPont is the second player to ever to receive exceptional status to play in the WHL, the other being Connor Bedard.
DuPont says that while the two compete against each other on the ice, they are always hoping for the best for each other in their hockey careers.
“It’ll be fun for sure. We’ve been playing against each other since we were as young as 10 years old. We built up a little rivalry and we’ve been texting a bit, so it’ll be pretty fun. We played on rival teams when we were growing up but I think we’re just both rooting for each other and we’re both just happy to be in the places that we are and it’s going to be exciting.”
The adjustment from U18 to the WHL is not easy for any player, but especially for a defenseman. Rudolph says he has immediately noticed the difference in game planning done by WHL clubs compared to U18.
“The level of preparation is a lot higher and more intense in the Western League and just the speed, the physicality and all the things like that are much higher. It’s been a good jump, the guys have been so great welcoming me here and all us young guys. We’ve really enjoyed our first first four games and I’m just super excited to keep going this year.”
For DuPont, he says the biggest difference from U18 to the WHL has been how teams play and the size of the competition.
“I think it’s a lot more structured hockey and obviously there’s a size difference as well. The guys are a lot more heavy, so that’s probably been the biggest thing for me.”
During a media availability on Tuesday, Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says both players have shown maturity beyond their years so far in their WHL careers.
“They’re not making those young guy mistakes. Both of them look like they’ve played in the league for a while. That’s always a real treat to watch two young, talented guys on the ice at the same time. There’s a lot of great talent in 16-to-17 year olds in this league. The top two of them are going to be on the ice here Friday night.”
The Raiders will be wearing special Hockey Fights Cancer uniforms on Friday night against the Silvertips. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
