<p>Great recognizes great.</p>



<p>Landon DuPont is projected to be the top player chosen in the 2027 NHL Draft. The young defender earned exceptional status last year and made the most of it by being named CHL Rookie of the Year. The 16-year-old is the second-youngest player to win the award in history after registering 60 points in 64 games. He became the first U-17 CHL defender to register at least 60 points since Ryan Ellis back in 2007-08. </p>



<p>DuPont still has a bit of time until he gets selected, but we are expected to see another defenseman, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-profile-matthew-schaefer-scouting-report-erie-otters-islanders-blackhawks">Matthew Schaefer, go first overall in 2025</a>. The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-york-islanders/line-combinations">New York Islanders</a> hold the top pick in Los Angeles, with many expecting the team to select Schaefer.</p>



<p>In an interview with Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek on The Sheet on Friday afternoon at the CHL Awards in Toronto, DuPont shared his thoughts about Schaefer and what makes him special ahead of the<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-top-80-steven-ellis-misa-hagens-schaefer-martone-desnoyers"> NHL Draft later this month:</a></p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="163"></div>



<p><strong>Jeff Marek:</strong> “We have someone coming up here in a couple of moments in Matthew Schaefer, who’s a pretty special skater. I’m sure you’ve had a look at him a couple of different times. What do you see? Let me close on that. What do you see in Matthew Schaefer when you watch him?”</p>



<p><strong>Landon DuPont:</strong> “Man, he’s special. Obviously, you see his draft’s coming up. He’s going to be a generational D-man. Some team’s going to get very lucky when they pick him. </p>



<p><strong>Jeff Marek:</strong> It’s going to be a team that rhymes with New York Islanders. That’s who’s going to get Matthew Schafer. He’s got first overall written all over him all day. </p>



<p><strong>Landon DuPont:</strong> “I think they’d be stupid if they didn’t pick him. He’s just so mature off the ice as well. Meeting him today, he’s been through a lot. But just seeing what he does every day with the kids and everything. It’s awesome.”</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="161"></div>



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