NHL Draft Profile- Dean Letourneau
6-Foot-7 Center Has Some High End Skills
2y
The 2024 NHL Draft will be here before you know it, and Draft 412 will preview some of the prospects who will be probable first round picks. Draft 412 will review the strengths and weaknesses of each prospect, and where they should land in the NHL Draft.
Name- Dean Letourneau
Pos- C
Team- St. Andrew’s (CAHS)
HT/WT- 6’7” 209 lbs
Born- 2/21/2006
Home – Braeside, Ontario, Canada
Dean Letourneau was born in Braeside, Ontario and played the past two seasons at St. Andrew's College (which is a private boarding school for grades 5-12). He put up elite numbers starting in 2022-2023 where he collected 25 goals and 40 assists in 53 games. In 2023-2024 for the U18 AAA St. Andrews College squad he took his game to the next level. He tallied 61 goals and 66 assists in 56 games while wearing the "A" for his squad. He won the J.P. McClocklin Trophy as the most valuable player of the MacPherson Tournament after leading St. Andrew's to the championship with 12 points (4-goals, 8-assists) in 5 games.
Letourneau also played in 2 USHL games for the Sioux Falls Stampede without scoring a point. He is slated to play in the USHL in 2024-205 and committed to play at Boston College for the 2025-2026 season.
Dean Letourneau steps on the ice at 6'7" and is an explosive skater. Once he gets 3 strides in, he is impossible to stop and to defend. His shot off the rush is strong and accurate and goalies have trouble making saves coming off the angle he creates with his long reach. Most players his size 6'7" don't possess neither his skating nor playmaking ability and he does a strong job of keeping his eyes up, making long, crisp passes or the soft saucer passes when necessary.
Letourneau plays a hard worker that plays a 200-foot game. He uses his stick well in the defensive slot to re-direct passes and once he scoops the puck up, he has the ability to start a smooth transition through the neutral zone. He plays a physical game and does not shy away from board battles.
Strengths
- Physicality
- Power of Shots
- Accurate Shot
- Powerful Skater
On the downside, Letourneau can be sloppy with his stick handling and at times tries to speed up the process and loses the puck. For the most part he's been playing against slower, smaller opponents during his time at the private school and lacks the pure hockey sense of most prospects. His transition against stronger and smarter players may take him sometime to adjust, so his one year in the USHL and then time at Boston College should play a big part in his growth. He is passive at times without the puck and needs to keep his feet moving.
Weaknesses
- Hockey IQ
- Stick Handling
- Moving Without the Puck
Dean Letourneau already compares himself to Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and Draft Nation can see why. Thompson is 6'6" and can skate but he went through a transition early in his career where he couldn't find the best use of his skill set. After only scoring 18 goals in his first 145 games, Thompson has since put together 38, 47 and 29 goal seasons. Thompson will be the ceiling for Letourneau and the middle ground being a player like Kevin Hayes, which isn't bad either.
Dean Letourneau has all the traits to be a solid NHL center and once he learns and understands the game better, he will be a force to reckon with. The lack of experience against top end competition will keep him on the back side of round one. At worst he looks to have the ability to be a solid 3rd line NHL center, with the right amount of patience.
Draft Nation Draft Projection- First Round Pick
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