I have decided to get the ball rolling on this series once more. What better way to do so than to continue to look a bit into the future? Here we commence a look into some of the projected top names in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft. We begin with analysis of what is possibly its most hyped prospect at present. He was recently drafted at the very top of the latest draft by a CHL member league after a remarkable AAA career. I am very impressed by what I have seen from him so far, and find his tool kit to be quite unique for a player at this particular stage of his development. Let us start our deep dive.

Madden Daneault was born in Red Deer, Alberta on May 7th, 2011. It would appear that strong hockey genes ended up in Madden’s generation of the family. His elder brothers Ty and Easton both have had respectable junior hockey careers in the AJHL and WHL (with both having played for the Drumheller Dragons and Easton having played with the Lethbridge Hurricanes). Currently, Ty is entering his junior season at Merrimack College, with whom he served as an alternate captain on this past season’s Hockey East championship winning squad, while Easton will join Ty in North Andover as a freshman this coming year. Like many prospects of his skill level, Daneault is a Brick Invitational alumnus. However, it was the tournaments he played in during his early teens that made his first major statement. In his 13-year-old season, Daneault played in both the John Reid Memorial and the World Selects Invitational U14, with the Red Deer Rebels U15 AAA and Western Canada Prime, respectively. Daneault was exemplary at both, registering 16 points in 5 games at the former (taking home tournament MVP) and 21 points in 8 games at the latter. This past season, we saw him put on clinics at several more tournaments. Running it back at the John Reid Memorial with Red Deer U15, Daneault put up 15 points in 6 games, winning a second consecutive MVP award. He additionally tallied 13 points in 5 games with Team Alberta Black at the Alberta Cup and 20 points in 9 games at the WSI U15 with Western Canada Prime.

Daneault’s two full U15 AAA seasons were nothing short of dominant. In 2024-25, he racked up 93 points in 33 games in the regular season with the Red Deer Rebels AAA U15 squad, followed by a strong postseason in which he tallied 14 goals and 7 assists in 10 games. The next season, while serving as captain, he registered an eye-popping 65 goals and 84 assists in 34 games played in the regular season, followed by another solid playoff run in which he recorded 11 goals and 11 assists in 9 appearances. The regular season stats are only made more absurd when put into relative perspective. As observed by THN’s Ryan Kennedy, the second-place scorer on the team, Finn Visser, had just 65 points. Daneault additionally performed at a 2 PPG pace in 3 games at the U18 levels with the Red Deer Chiefs, showing an ability to punch above his weight. He has the ability to control games and run an offense that is indicative of franchise cornerstone potential, at least as clearly as is possible to see at this stage. Clearly, the Kelowna Rockets agreed, taking Daneault first overall in the WHL Prospects Draft and signing him to a Scholarship and Development Agreement just under two weeks later. Under the Western Canadian Development Model, we will get to see Daneault play as many as 34 games this coming year, equivalent to half a CHL regular season. I anticipate that we could see as much from him as we saw from 2025 1st overall pick Maddox Schultz in 2025-26 with the Regina Pats in his own very impressive 34 game stint in the WHL… or maybe even more?

I agree with PuckPreps’ Joel Henderson’s assessment of many aspects of Daneault’s game. His IQ, touch, playmaking, and lateral movement are all pluses. Concerning the analysis of some of his physical attributes, however, I think Henderson’s observation mostly holds up, but has some caveats. Yes, in an absolute sense, his strength has room for growth. However, in a relative sense, I think there is something there when playing against players his age. Daneault’s contact balance has often impressed me, which is an excellent asset to have alongside his slipperiness. As of right now, he is usually able to deke his way around defenders or use his evasive skating abilities to avoid contact. However, he is sturdy in a way that has occasionally surprised me, and yet, this will grow further with time. The leaps will come with more development and conditioning. Beyond that, I find a certain intrigue to the way he moves. Again, I understand the commentary about his speed and pace, but there is a certain smoothness and adeptness to his transition game both on- and off-puck. He is definitely efficient and aware in both forms of transition offense in a way that has me wanting to give him an A grade in both categories. I am definitely not accustomed to a prospect of this age being equally strong at both, especially to such magnitude. Overall, all of this serves to say that he has certain cadences to his game that I am not accustomed to seeing from prospects at this stage of development. Those unique attributes combined with his stellar results make me very fascinated and excited to see what he has in store for us at the major junior level. I am sure that Kelowna awaits with bated breath to see what he’ll provide for them in the coming times.