Claimed:Benjamin Dupont Rookie Profile [Final 8/8]

[Advantage 2,891]

ROOKIE PROFILE: BENJAMIN DUPONT

 

 

Growing up in France, hockey is not exactly everyone’s first choice when it comes to choosing a sport to play.  This made the journey for Benjamin Dupont that much more difficult.  Growing up in Lille, France, Dupont fought the urge of taking part in football, electing instead for a colder and more physical sport that was played on ice.  “I don’t really know why I chose hockey.  I never particularly had interest in football and while that made me a bit of a loner, it never bothered me.  I was committed from the get go and I would do whatever it took to get where I needed to go.”  Playing for a local minor hockey team, he would partake against other cities in France within his age group.  Dupont, who showed a tremendous level of skill at a young age, wanted a different challenge though.  That is why, when he turned fourteen, he told his parents that he wanted to move to Canada in order to get drafted into the Canadian Hockey League, widely considered the best preparation for the next level of hockey in the world. 

 

 

Dupont would make the move to Toronto to play with the Minor Midget AAA Toronto Marlboros of the GTHL.  This is a team that has had players like Jason Spezza, Rick Nash and Ryan Strome, at one time playing for them.  Benjamin knew that with this being his first year of eligibility for the CHL, that there was a lot to prove.  Dupont would do his job though as he had a great season and finished with thirty-five goals and sixty-eight assists for one-hundred and three points.  With his impressive skating ability and playmaking talents being showed off, Dupont would earn himself a spot with the Peterborough Petes at twelfth overall.

 

It was not a seamless transition for Dupont into the OHL as the pace was much faster than he expected and he was still struggling with the language.  With that being said, Dupont would have a solid season on the rebuilding Petes and while they did not win a lot of games, the fans seemed quite fond of Benjamin for a few games where he showed off some overtime heroics.  Over the next three seasons, Dupont would show off some solid offensive skills and progress into a pretty solid player in the OHL.  He would even be drafted in the fifth round by the Minnesota Wild but failed to earn another contract with the team after a serious ACL injury would take him out in his post-draft year.  This led to a solid final season for the Petes, one that would see Benjamin help carry the team in purple to an Eastern Conference Final birth, only to fall in seven games to the Barrie Colts.  He would finish a leader in Peterborough with a new attitude and a head held high as he was moving on to his next journey.

 

 

During his last season with the Petes, Dupont had some contact with Christopher Miller, who is a well-known figure as the General Manager of the VHL’s New York Americans.  The Victory Hockey League is widely considered the second best league in the world and is growing competition for the NHL as it continues to strive to become the best.  Miller told Dupont that if he pursued the VHL, that New York would sign him and let him go through the VHL minors before playing for the navy and red Americans.  On April 20^th, 2015, Benjamin Dupont would make it official as he declared for the next VHLM Dispersal Draft.  "It was not a very hard decision for me.  My deal with Minnesota fell through due to an injury, but I am recovered and I am looking for a new start.  The Americans and the VHL seem like the best possible choice."

 

STRENGTHS

 

SKATING – This is unquestionably one of Benjamin Dupont’s greatest assets.  He has terrific skating ability and a stride that is hard to match.  Dupont uses his solid 6”2 frame to deliver long strides, but shows off agility and acceleration that is quite surprising at first glance. 

 

PASSING – The other major part of Dupont’s game is his ridiculous playmaking skills.  Nicknamed “The Wizard” in Peterborough, Benjamin has this incredible knack of feeding his linemates in seemingly impossible situations.  His coach for the Petes remarked that it was “incredible to watch him play.  No one could stop him when he had open ice.  His playmaking skills were second-to-none and it was a joy to watch them in action up-close.”

 

DEFENSE – There was some questions at one point on whether or not Dupont should be a defender.  He had the skating ability and could move the puck well, but more importantly, he was a tremendous defender.  Equally effective with his long reach as he was with his lateral quickness, Dupont is an excellent back-checker and is positionally sound in his own zone.

 

WEAKNESSES

 

CHECKING – This is something that Benjamin Dupont has gone on record about.  “I find that when I look to be physical, I sometimes get careless and take unnecessary penalties.  Generally I will look to use my speed and a good stick to separate someone from the puck, rather than a big hit.”  There is nothing wrong with Dupont not being an overly physical player, as long as his work ethic makes up for it.  With that being said, it is not hard to label this as a weakness. 

 

SHOT – Benjamin has never really been a big scorer and an important factor in why is his weak shot.  Dupont is a pass-first guy for a reason as his shot can be looked at as average-at-best.  Some strength training should help him in this facet of the game so while this does remain a weakness for now, I would not be surprised to see this improve in the future.

 

FACEOFFS – This is a big factor in some people wondering if Dupont should even be playing center.  His build seems natural for defense or center, but one has to wonder if his putrid faceoff ability will either improve or become unimportant with a position switch.  Perhaps only time will tell on this one, but if Dupont wants to become a successful pivot in the VHL, he needs to work on his draws.

 

STATISTICS

 

2010-2011 - Toronto Marlboros (AAA GTHL): 68 GP, 35 G, 68 A, 103 P, +67

2011-2012 - Peterborough Petes (OHL): 66 GP, 16 G, 32 A, 48 P, -9

2012-2013 - Peterborough Petes (OHL): 67 GP, 21 G, 42 A, 63 P, +13

2013-2014 - Peterborough Petes (OHL): 14 GP, 3 G, 12 A, 15 P, +5
2014-2015 - Peterborough Petes (OHL): 65 GP, 30 G, 51 A, 81 P, +26

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GTHL Statistics: 68 GP, 35 G, 68 A, 103 P, +67

OHL Statistics: 212 GP, 70 G, 137 A, 207 P, +35
 

 

[Laflamme 376]

Content: 5/5 - A nice look at the beginning of the career of BENJAMIN DUPONT . It will be great to see this french hockey star kill the vhl season by season. Wish you all the luck in your career and i know you will keep a strong work ethic for your whole career. 

 

Grammar: 1/1 - Perfect!

Appearance: 1/1 - Solid.

 

Over 500 Words? 1/1 - Yup.

Overall 8/8

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Damn Escabar you killed the grades last night.

[Kendrick 4,741]

Claimed