Madden Daneault, who was taken first overall in the 2026 WHL draft by the Kelowna Rockets, just completed an incredibly impressive U-15 season in Alberta, tallying 65 goals and 149 points in just 34 games with the Red Deer AAA Rebels.

Just to give you a sense of scale, the next-best scorer on the team had 65 points. But Daneault also came through at tournaments such as the John Reid Memorial, where he was named MVP for the second consecutive year. And there was some added motivation there. Many of the other teams participating were from the sports academies that have come to dominate western Canada. “Some people may have thought that I didn’t go to an academy because I couldn’t compete,” Daneault said. “But once we got in those tournaments, I could show I could compete with them and our team could compete. We did a great job.”

The Rebels lost in the semifinal to one of those academies, the Northern Alberta Xtreme – but only by a score of 5-4. Daneault doesn’t regret his decision to stick with Red Deer, either. “It was important to stay local,” he said. “Our coach, Justin Jarmolicz, had my oldest brother for one year, my middle brother for two and me for two and a bit. There was no reason to leave him. He runs an outstanding program here.”

Jarmolicz will also coach Daneault next year when he suits up with the U-18 Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, and Daneault is also eligible to play a limited number of WHL games. He got a sneak peek at what the level of competition will be when he played three games with the Chiefs this season (netting six points, naturally). He also joined them for the Circle K Classic. “The experience was great,” Daneault said. “It was awesome to get a feel for the league, and playing in the Circle K was a whole new experience. But the game of hockey is the game of hockey. There are bigger, stronger guys, but everything else doesn’t change.”

Daneault credits his older brothers for toughening him up as a child. Ty, 21, just completed his third NCAA campaign with Merrimack, while Easton, 18, will join Ty in college next season after playing in the WHL with Lethbridge this year. “Watching them play high-end hockey growing up, I wanted to be just like them,” Madden said. “When they brought friends over, I wanted to play mini-sticks, but they always threw me in net. They’d be ripping shots past my ears and hitting me in the head. I feel like that’s what made me so competitive. I hated to lose in mini-sticks, and as I got older, I hated to lose in real hockey, too. It was cool having older brothers and watching them succeed.”

His brothers can now watch him succeed. Despite the fact that the Rockets are hosting the Memorial Cup and finished fourth in the Western Conference, they got the first-overall pick thanks to an earlier trade with Lethbridge. Of course, a lot of that talent will be gone by the time Daneault can play the full schedule, but he’s quite the building block to start the next wave in Kelowna. “It was a huge honor to go No. 1,” he said. “So many great players have gone first overall. And to go to a great organization like Kelowna, I couldn’t be more happy.”

Daneault grew up in a Winnipeg Jets household, thanks to his parents, but has since shifted his allegiance to the Edmonton Oilers, with Connor McDavid being a major factor. The young center loves to watch No. 97, particularly for his skating prowess, something Daneault wants to improve on – along with his shot.

But with his own hockey IQ and skill, Daneault is just at the start of his own journey. And if the early returns are any indication, it’s going to involve a lot of points in a Kelowna jersey.

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This feature appeared in The Hockey News' Draft Preview issue featuring Gavin McKenna on the cover.

Not only does it feature scouting reports on the NHL draft's top 100 prospects, but it also goes further into the stories of some of the top players available, such as McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels, JP Hurlbert and the Ruck twins.

There are also team-by-team reports that cover immediate and long-term needs, cap situation, players in the system, shrewd picks from the past and not so shrewd picks. It's worth a read during and after the draft.