Exceptional Status

The focus of a 15-year-old playing in the CHL is not unheard of but a rarity. The definition of Exceptional Status: “An exceptional player status is granted to a player whose qualities not only on the ice but as a person, deem the player deserving of the rare privilege of participating in the CHL at an early age”. A 15-year-old is eligible for the CHL if they achieve those qualities while in AAA hockey. This article looks at players who have been granted Exceptional Status and have been successful or unsuccessful in their careers.  More importantly, players such as John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, Joe Veleno, Shane Wright, Connor Bedard and Michael Misa will be discussed. A disclaimer first, I will NOT be discussing players before the 2004-05 season due to the Exceptional Status rule coming in place when John Tavares entered the league.

The WHL differs from the OHL and QMJHL because the league can draft 15-year-old players. But those players can only play if their AAA hockey year ends. However, they can only play five games in the WHL during their AAA season, think of it like an emergency call-up.

Players to discuss:

• John Tavares (2005-06), OHL

• Aaron Ekblad (2011-12), OHL

• Connor McDavid (2012-13), OHL

• Sean Day (2013-14), OHL

• Joe Veleno (2015-16), QMJHL

• Shane Wright (2019-20), OHL

• Connor Bedard (2020-21), WHL

*Will not discuss Michael Misa since he has yet to debut in the NHL.

1. John Tavares (2005-06) OHL

John Tavares born September 20th, 1990 in Mississauga/Oakville entered the OHL during the 05-06 season. The forward played for the Oshawa Generals for most of his career before being traded to the London Knights where he would end his OHL career. Tavares’ first season with the Generals went well for a 15-year-old. He played 55 games, gaining the second-highest points on the roster with 77 points, achieving the most goals for an OHL rookie with 45 and the third-highest assists total with 32. He would go on to have an accomplished first OHL season, achieving,

• CHL All-Rookie Team

• CHL Rookie of The Year

• OHL First All-Rookie Team

• OHL Rookie of The Year (Emms Family Award)

Tavares’ OHL career lasted four seasons. He went first to the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Draft. Continuing his OHL season in 2008, He was eventually traded from Oshawa to London where he would finish his OHL career with 24 games played, 32 goals and 18 assists in total for 50 points with the London Knights. Throughout his OHL career, Tavares would not win the Ross Robertson Cup and the Memorial Cup during his highly accomplished career. However, he would achieve,

• CHL First All-Star Team x2 (06-07 and 08-09)

• CHL Player of The Year (06-07)

• CHL Top Draft Prospect

• CHL Top Prospects Game

• OHL First All-Star Team (06-07)

• OHL Second All-Star Team (08-09)

• U20 World Junior Gold Medal x2 (06-07 and 08-09)

And many more highly accomplished awards. Tavares would finish his OHL career with 247 games played, 215 games and 218 assists for 433 points. Tavares would produce a consistent NHL career as he spent nine seasons with the New York Islanders, averaging 50 points a season and was named captain in the 2011-12 season. He would leave Long Island after the 2017-18 season and joined the Toronto Maple Leafs the next season and later on, would become their captain in the 2019-20 season as he averaged four more 50 points a season. Tavares had a successful Exceptional Status career, even though he never achieved any championship in his OHL/CHL career and has yet to win the Stanley Cup. He is a highly respected player, he is consistent and contributes on the ice often. 

2. Aaron Ekblad (2011-12), OHL

Aaron Ekblad was born on February 7th, 1996 in Windsor, Ontario. Ekblad entered the OHL at 15 during the 2011-12 season with the Barrie Colts. Although he did not put up big numbers in his first season, he was rewarded with,

• OHL First All-Rookie Team

• OHL Rookie of The Year (Emms Family Award)

While playing 63 games and putting up 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in total. Ekblad would play with the Colts for three more seasons before going first overall in the 2014 NHL draft to the Florida Panthers and immediately playing with the Panthers in the next NHL season. During his junior career, Ekblad was named captain in the 2013-14 season, which would be his last season in the OHL. He played 58 games and finished with 28 goals and 30 assists for 53 points in his final season with the Colts. Ekblad would finish his OHL career with 175 games played, 40 goals and 76 assists in total for 116 points. During his OHL career, he never won any OHL and CHL Championship(s). However, he did achieve, 

• OHL First All-Star Team (2013-14)

• OHL Most Outstanding Defenceman (Max Kaminsky Trophy) (2014-15)

In his first NHL season (2014-15), he won the Calder Trophy, the NHL Rookie of the Year trophy. Ekblad had 81 games played and had 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points. After that, he averaged 20 or more points a season. He was later awarded the assistant captaincy in 16-17 for the Panthers. Although playing a strong defensive and consistent NHL career, it is argued that Ekblad never lived up to the Exceptional status he achieved at 15. Considering he is a defenceman, some people expect more from Ekblad, especially in the NHL. He reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs four times in his career. Although, he is given credit for the Calder Trophy. He goes on in the NHL to be a strong defender, but he quickly falls off the Panthers’ roster and only being known as their strong Calder-winning defenceman who is not as good as he used to be. 

3. Connor McDavid (2012-13)

Where to start? Connor McDavid born January 13th, 1997 in Richmond Hill, Ontario entered the OHL during the 12-13 season for the Erie Otters. In his first season, he played 63 games and scored 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points. The second highest points on the 2012-13 Erie Otters roster. In his first OHL season, he achieved,

• OHL First All-Rookie Team

• OHL Rookie of The Year (Emms Family Award)

Along with those awards, he was rewarded with many U17 and U18 awards while playing with Team Canada. McDavid only played 3 seasons with the Otters. He was eventually drafted first overall in the NHL’s 2015 draft by the Edmonton Oilers. He was granted the captaincy in his last season with the Otters, which was the 14-15 season. In this last season, McDavid played 47 games, putting up 44 goals and 76 assists for 120 points. In his junior career, he did not achieve any type of OHL or CHL Championship. However, he did achieve a lot more,

• CHL Player of The Year (14-15)

• CHL Scholastic Player of The Year x2 (13-14 and 14-15)

• CHL Top Draft Prospect Award (14-15)

• CHL Top Prospects Game (14-15)

• OHL First All-Star Team (14-15)

• OHL Most Outstanding Player (Red Tilson Trophy) (14-15)

• OHL Playoffs MVP (Wayne Gretzky 99 Award) (14-15)

• OHL Scholastics Player of The Year x2 (Bobby Smith Award) (13-14 and 14-15)

• OHL Second All-Star Team (13-14)

• OHL Most Sportsmanlike Player (William Hanley Trophy) (13-14)

While in his junior year, McDavid also achieved a gold medal with the U20 Canadian 2014-15 World Junior Team. After his junior year and being drafted first overall by the Oilers, McDavid joined the Oilers right away after the draft and then his first season in the NHL was quickly cut short due to an upper-body injury. He only played 45 games and achieved 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points, which is quite impressive for a rookie. He was even the NHL’s “Rookie of The Month” three times (October, February and March) and earned a Calder Trophy Finalist nomination. After the 15-16 season, on October 5th, 2016, McDavid became the youngest NHL captain at 19 years and 266 days. The city of Edmonton immediately trusted an almost 20-year-old player with their franchise. During that season, McDavid played a full season. He put up 30 goals and 70 assists for 100 points. After that, McDavid went on to average nearly 100 points or more a season (nearly since in the 19-20 season, he put up 97 points). McDavid would go on to have one of the best NHL careers that are still active. He currently has accomplished, 

• NHL All-Star x6 (Captain in 6 out of 7), (16-17, 17-18, 18-19, 19-20, 21-22, 22-23 and 23-24)

• NHL First All-Star Team x4 (16-17, 17-18, 18-19 and 20-21)

• Art Ross Trophy (Most Points) x5 (16-17; 100 pts, 17-18; 108 pts, 20-21; 103 pts, 21-22; 123 pts, 22-23; 153 pts)

• NHL MVP (Hart Trophy) x2 (16-17 and 20-21) and Finalist x3 (18-19, 21-22 and 22-23)

• NHL MVP Selected by the NHLPA (Ted Lindsay Award) x4 (16-17, 17-18, 20-21 and 22-23)

• Most Goals (Maurice Richard Trophy) (22-23; 64 goals)

All these achievements within his nearly 10-year-long NHL career. McDavid is undoubtedly by far the best player granted Exceptional Status and he lived up to the expectations and even exceeded them in the NHL and has more years ahead of him. 

4. Sean Day (2013-14) OHL

Sean Day was born January 9th, 1998 in Leuven, Belgium to Canadian parents, hence his Canadian citizenship entered the OHL during the 13-14 season for the Mississauga Steelheads. In the defenceman’s first season, he played 60 games and put up six goals and ten assists for 16 points. Doing a bit worse than Aaron Ekblad. Day has huge expectations put on him. In the 13-14 season he achieved, 

• 2013-14 OHL Second All-Rookie Team

And that was his only award during his rookie year. He played in the OHL for 5 more seasons and had no real improvement. He fell out of the first round in the 2016 NHL draft until being selected in the third round at 81st overall by the New York Rangers. Day would never play for the Rangers because the Rangers reportedly waived Day off his contract meaning he was a free agent. Focusing on his junior year, Day would play four more seasons in the OHL and played with the Steelheads for 3 seasons until being traded in the 2016-17 season to the Windsor Spitfires. Day finished with 183 games played, 25 goals scored, and 54 assists for 79 points in total. He could have had better stats with the Steelheads and the Exceptional Status he was granted was quickly forgotten, Day played a season and a quarter before in the 2017-18 season, being traded again to the Kingston Frontenacs. Day played 85 games and scored 16 goals, and 37 assists for 53 points in total for his time at Windsor. The 2017-18 was Day’s last season in the OHL as he would finish the rest of his career with Kingston. He achieved what is called an “over-ager” in the OHL. He played 23 games, scored one goal and had 25 assists for 26 points in total. Day finished his OHL career with 291 games played, 42 goals scored, and 116 assists for 158 points in total. Compared to another defenceman granted Exceptional Status, Aaron Ekblad, Day had better numbers due to how long he played in the OHL. He played a full career in the OHL whereas Ekblad did not. However, Day did win the Memorial Cup in the final season of his OHL career whereas McDavid, Ekblad and Tavares did not. He also achieved, 

• CHL Top Prospects Game (2015-16)

And that is it. Compared to the other Exceptional players, Day would not join the NHL until the 2021-22 season. He would go on to join the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL, playing 46 games, scoring three goals and 11 assists for 15 points before being sent down to the ECHL to the Maine Mariners where he would finish the 2018-19 season. With the Mariners, he played 19 games, scored four goals and put up 11 assists for 15 points. The same thing would happen in the 2019-20 season. He would play 16 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack and then be sent down to the Maine Mariners for 36 games. This is the last time that Day would be sent down to the ECHL, before seeing the NHL, Day signed a one-year contract on July 17th, 2020 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would play the 2020-21 season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch. He played 29 games, scored three goals, and had 12 assists for 15 points. Day finally got sent up to the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning and played 2 games before being sent down to the AHL. He would finish his season playing 69 games, scoring eight goals and having 32 assists in total for a career-high in the AHL 40 points. Recently, Day has been stuck in the AHL and signed a one-year contract with the Lightning on June 5th, 2023. The future is uncertain for Day as he barely averages 13 points a season in the AHL and is only on a one-year contract. Day may stay in the AHL or be moved down to the ECHL but only the future will tell. Overall, Day has not exceeded Exceptional Status and is considered one of the worst players, if not the worst, to be granted Exceptional Status. 

5. Joe Veleno (2015-16) QMJHL

Joe Veleno was born on January 13th, 2000 in Montreal, Quebec. He entered the QMJHL during the 15-16 season for the Saint John Sea Dogs. He became the first player from Quebec to be granted Exceptional Status in the QMJHL. At first, he was not granted Exceptional Status due to missing the application deadline. However, after some work behind the scenes, he was finally granted Exceptional Status. In the forward’s first season, he played 62 games, just shy of playing a full season. He scored 13 goals and had 30 assists for 43 points in total. Compared to the other forwards granted Exceptional Status, Veleno’s first year was decent. It is important to remember that Veleno is no McDavid or Tavares. In his first QMJHL season, he did not achieve any type of awards. 

Veleno played four seasons in the QMJHL. In his third season, he was granted to be the captain of the Saint John Sea Dogs. He played 31 games with them before being traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Veleno finished his time with the Sea Dogs with 138 games played, 32 goals scored and 82 assists for 114 points. Veleno finished his 2017-18 season with 64 games played, 22 goals scored and 57 assists for 79 points. Veleno was drafted later in the year to the NHL in the first round. He was the 30th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings. However, he played one more season in the QMJHL before joining Detroit’s AHL team. In Veleno’s last QMJHL season, he played with the Voltigeurs. He played 59 games, scored 42 goals and had 62 assists which gave him a career high of 104 points in the QMJHL. He did win the Gilles-Courteau Trophy during the 2016-17 season. Along with,

• QMJHL First All-Star Team (2018-19)

In summary, Veleno finished his QMJHL career with four seasons played, 230 games played, scored 90 goals and 176 assists in total for 266 points. 

Veleno also played with Team Canada’s U18 (2017-18) and U20 (2018-19 and 2019-20) teams. With the U18 team, he played 4 games, did not score any goals and had three assists for three points. However, he did win the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Gold Medal with the team. With the U20 team in 2018-19, he played 5 games, did not score any goals and had two assists for two points. Team Canada did not win a championship that year. In the next year, 2019-20, he was an assistant captain with the Canadian world junior team. He played six games, scored one goal and had five assists for six points. Team Canada won a gold medal that year. 

Between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 World Juniors season, Veleno would play in the AHL for the Grand Rapid Griffins. He played 54 games, scored 11 goals and had 12 assists for 23 points. He eventually joined the Red Wings during the 2020-21 season. He played five games, scored one goal and had no assists for a total of one point. He was later sent down to the AHL’s Griffins where he played four games, scored one goal and had two assists for three games. 2020-21 was complicated for many since that was the peak of the pandemic. At the moment, the last time Veleno was sent down to the AHL was during the 2021-22 season where he played 11 games, scored six goals and had four assists for ten points. As of 2022-23, Veleno nearly played a full NHL season with the Red Wings. He scored nine goals and had 11 assists for 20 points. He also played for Team Canada at the World Championship and played five games, scored 2 goals and had three assists for five points. Team Canada won gold at the tournament.

Veleno has had an underwhelming career, constantly bouncing back and forth between the NHL and AHL and barely averaging double-digit points. He has not achieved any awards in the NHL. At this point, if he is compared to John Tavares or Connor McDavid, it would be unfair. After the QMJHL, Veleno unfortunately fell off and became a third or fourth liner. However, he is still young and has time and a lot more to learn. It is projected he will have a career high for the 2023-24 season which can be the start of a turnaround for now. In summary, he currently is not living up to the Exceptional Status he was granted.

6. Shane Wright (2019-20) OHL

Shane Wright was born on January 5th, 2004 in Burlington, Ontario. The forward entered the OHL during the 2019-20 season for the Kingston Frontenacs. Wright was immediately given an assistant captaincy. During his rookie season, he played 58 games, scored 39 goals and had 27 assists for a total of 66 points. Which is the exact total of points McDavid achieved in his rookie season. Wright had the highest point total on the 2019-20 Frontenacs. During his rookie year, he achieved,

• CHL Top Rookie of The Year

• OHL First All-Rookie Team

• OHL Most Goals by a Rookie

• OHL Most Points by a Rookie 

• OHL Rookie of The Year (Emms Family Award)

Wright would play two more seasons in the OHL. One with the Frontenacs and one with the Windsor Spitfires. Before that, in 2020-21, he played with Team Canada in the U18 tournament. He played five games, scored nine goals and had five assists in total for 14 points. Team Canada did win the tournament and Wright earned an achievement which was the U18 WJC Top Three Player on a Team. He was also the captain of the team.

His last year with the Frontenacs was the 2021-22 season. He was granted the captaincy. He played 63 games, scored 32 goals and had 62 assists for 94 points which was a career high for him in the OHL. After the season, Wright was drafted at a controversial pick by the Seattle Kraken. The reason his pick is controversial is because he was projected since the age of 15 to be the number one pick of the 2022 draft only to fall to the fourth overall pick. The reason for his drop is unsure but most sources claim that Wright had “attitude issues” that made him “undesirable”. While other sources claim that the top three teams wanted to “take a big gamble with the top three picks”. Later in the year, Wright would make his NHL debut with the Kraken. During his whirlwind 2022-23 season, he played with the Kraken for eight games, scored one goal and had one assist for two points. He was later sent down to the AHL where he played eight games, scored four goals and had two assists for six points. Some of those stats are mixed with before he went on loan to his new team the Windsor Spitfires. That is because the AHL has a rule where players drafted from the CHL cannot be re-assigned to the AHL until they have either turned 20 years old or played in four seasons. Wright was traded and did go back to the OHL for one more season with Windsor where he played 20 games, scored 15 goals and had 22 assists for 37 points. After that, his OHL season ended, and he went to play with the Kraken’s AHL team, The Coachella Valley Firebirds. Wright did not win any OHL or CHL championships. But he achieved the following accomplishments in his OHL career,

• CHL Top Draft Prospect Award (2021-22)

• OHL Third All-Star Team (2021-22)

He did not achieve much due to the loss of play during the pandemic, confusion between the NHL and AHL, etc. He finished his career with 141 games, 86 goals, and 111 assists for 197 points. 

During the 2022-23 season, he played with Team Canada’s World Juniors Team where he was the captain. He played seven games, scored four goals, and had three assists for seven points in total. Team Canada won gold that year.

As of 2023-24, Wright has had a career full of ups and downs with play in the NHL and AHL. He was sent down early this season to the AHL and he has been doing great with the Firebirds. He is projected to have more than 40 points in 65 games played which is not bad for a 20-year-old in the AHL. In projection, Shane Wright can become a top star in the NHL as he does exceed the Exceptional Status he was granted for now. The guess is for him to play with the Kraken in the next season and have a decent season in the NHL. The best part is that Wright is only 20 years old and has an entire career ahead of him. He can become a great player in the next few years.

7. Connor Bedard (2020-21) WHL

Connor Bedard was born on July 17th, 2005 in North Vancouver, BC. He became the first 15-year-old granted Exceptional Status in the WHL. He played 15 games with the Regina Pats, scored 12 goals and had 16 assists for 28 points. Which is quite big for a 15-year-old. In his rookie year, he achieved,

• WHL Most Assists by a Rookie

• WHL Most Goals by a Rookie

• WHL Most Points by a Rookie

• WHL Rookie of The Year (Jim Piggott Trophy)

He also played with Team Canada’s U18 Team where he played seven games, scored seven goals and had seven points for 14 points. Team Canada won gold that year and Bedard was rewarded with U18 WJC All-Star Team and U18 WJC Top Three Player on a Team.

Bedard played three seasons in the WHL with the Regina Pats. During the 2021-22 season, he became an assistant captain and reached 100 points in 62 games. He was rewarded with the WHL (East) First All-Star Team. Bedard has had insane plays shown on social media during his WHL career. He is insanely good. He also played with both Team Canada’s U18 and U20 Juniors teams. With the U18 team, he was the captain. He had seven points in four games played. Team Canada did not win gold that year but Bedard earned U18 WJC Top Three Player on a Team. With the U20 team, he had eight points in seven games. Team Canada won gold that year. 

Bedard would have an insane 2022-23 season. He was granted captaincy for the Regina Pats. Where he would have 143 points in 57 games played. He was on a tear. That is currently the highest point total for a player granted Exceptional Status. He also scored 71 goals and had 72 assists. He played for Team Canada’s World Junior team once again playing seven games, scoring nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points. During that tournament he achieved,

• U20 WJC All-Star Team

• U20 WJC Best Forward & Plus/Minus

• U20 WJC Most Goals, Assists & Points

• U20 WJC MVP

• U20 WJC Top Three Players on A Team

And more importantly, the Gold medal. Bedard would finish his WHL career during the 2022-23 season. In his final season, he achieved the,

• CHL First All-Star Team

• CHL Player of The Year

• CHL Top Draft Prospect

• CHL Top Scorer 

• WHL (East) First All-Star Team

• WHL Most Assists & Goals

• WHL Most Points (Bobby Clarke Trophy)

• WHL Player of The Year (Four Broncos Trophy)

Bedard did not win The Ed Chynoweth Cup or the Memorial Cup. He finished his memorable WHL career with three seasons played. He played 134 games in total, scored 134 goals, 137 assists and 271 points in total. He was drafted first overall in 2023 to the Chicago Blackhawks. Bedard is currently in the NHL and is projected to have 61 points this season. As of late, he has been NHL’s Rookie of the Month twice (November & December) and is projected to be a Calder finalist.

It is safe to say that Bedard is currently living up to his Exceptional Status. However, Bedard is still young and has many years of possible greatness ahead of him unless he cracks under pressure and from the spotlight.

In conclusion, Exceptional Status is hard to obtain since only currently eight players have knowingly achieved it. Even though, a few players who have had the status granted, have not had the best careers so far. At the same time, some others have had good careers and have not wasted their status. So what do you think? Does it mean something when a player is granted Exceptional Status? Or is it another glorified title for a teenager with a lot of pressure & stress under them?