Dean Letourneau 2024 NHL Draft Profile

It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! Today, we are going to look at the 39th-ranked player in the TWC consolidated 2024 NHL Draft rankings. The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Who is Dean Letourneau?

Player	Position	Handedness	Height	Weight
Dean Letourneau	C	Right	6’7″	209 lbs

Letourneau’s on-ice production

Year	Draft Relative	League	Team	GP	G	A	P
2021–22	D-2	HEO U18	Renfrew Wolves U18 AAA	32	18	17	35
2022–23	D-1	CAHS	St. Andrew’s College	53	25	40	65
		PHC	St. Andrew’s College	14	7	6	13
2023–24	D+0	U18 AAA	St. Andrew’s College	56	61	66	127
		PHC	St. Andrew’s College	14	14	11	25
		USHL	Sioux Falls Stampede	2	0	0	0

The Braeside, Ontario product played the 2021–22 season with the Renfrew Wolves U18 AAA where he scored 18 goals and 35 points in 32 games. Those 35 points were tied for 13th in HEO U18 league scoring.

In 2022–23, Letourneau played for St. Andrew’s College in the Canadian High School Hockey (CAHS) league, scoring 25 goals and 65 points in 53 games. Those 65 points were tied for 12th in CAHS scoring. Letourneau also played in the Prep Hockey Conference (PHC), where he tied for 17th in league scoring.

Most recently in 2023–24, Letourneau lit up the U18 AAA (Canadian University) with 127 points in 56 games. Those 127 points led the league in scoring. Letourneau also played in the PHC for a second year, where he led the tournament in scoring with 25 points in 14 games. Letourneau played two games with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL, but an end of season injury prevented him from joining them at The U18 AAA end.

In 2024–25 Letourneau is projected to play in the USHL with Sioux Falls. Letourneau is committed to Boston College for the 2025–26 season.

Letourneau’s strengths

Size

The first thing that pops out at you is Letourneau’s size. He looks like an absolute giant out there in any game you watch. Definitely not hard to miss him when he’s on the ice. Standing at 6’7″ already at the age of eighteen, Letourneau might even have some more growth potential. With his size, Letourneau can use his body to control and protect the puck from opponents. His size is definitely still raw in the sense that he hasn’t completely mastered it yet. But there’s not many forwards in the NHL with this size.

Shot

Letourneau has great power in his shot. He can catch and release pucks quickly and effectively. Whether it’s taking shots from the circles or in tight, Letourneau can find pucks and finish. It’s no wonder he was at or above a goal-per-game in both the U18 AAA and PHC this season.

Letourneau’s areas of improvement

Compete

The biggest thing for Letourneau to improve is his compete level. He struggles away from the puck. There are a lot of instances of puck watching and gliding around in the defensive zone. He definitely projects as an offensive player who will get high offensive zone starts if he makes the NHL.

Physicality

Letourneau needs to learn how to use his size effectively. He can lose board battles and one-on-one battles by getting outmuscled. This can relate to his compete level as well. As Letourneau continues to get used to his frame, I’m sure he can develop the physical tools to be NHL level.

Letourneau’s comparables

Letourneau is hard to project given he is playing in a league that not many do. The obvious comparable that everyone is going to make is Tage Thompson. Both are big centres who are skilled. A player that I also see some similarities to is Nick Bjugstad—he has size, but he’s not the most physical player. I think Letourneau has a better shot than Bjugstad, but both have similar size and skillsets.

Fit with the Flames

The Flames drafted a player out of high school in the first round in 2012 when they took Mark Jankowski 21st overall. Will they follow suit again in 2024? The Flames have a massive need for both centre and right shot prospects. They also have trended towards prospects with both size and skill recently.

Letourneau will be a project, so the Flames would draft him knowing he likely won’t be an option until at least 2026–27. Tage Thompson is a similar case study in a guy who took quite a while to hit but is now a very effective player. For a Calgary team that wants to re-tool quickly (where the urgency to compete can hinder their rebuild), I’m not sure if they would have the patience to wait on Letourneau. But I think he’d be a fascinating prospect to take a gamble on, especially when you have multiple firsts and seconds.

Summary

Letourneau is going to be a project for whichever team drafts him. He is probably the biggest wild card in this draft. Letourneau has a unique blend of size, skill, and a powerful shot. However, he can have some struggles with consistency and needs to learn how to use his size more effectively.

He is projected to be a late first-rounder, or taken sometime in the second round. I could see a team that has multiple picks in the late first round and early second—like Calgary, San Jose, or Ottawa—to take a shot on Letourneau. Given that he hasn’t played against higher competition and had an injury at the end of the year, his draft stock could fall a bit.

Risk: 3.5/5

Reward: 4/5

Projection: Middle-six offensive-driving centre

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:

James JohnsonMay 17, 2024

4 minutes read