No. 8: Red Wings Wanted To Sign Plante Last Spring

The post No. 8: Red Wings Wanted To Sign Plante Last Spring appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Editor’s Note: This is the eighth installment of a Detroit Hockey Now series assessing the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects’ path to the NHL. The emphasis will be on what their chances are of playing regularly in the NHL and when we can expect to see them wearing the Winged Wheel.

Max Plante

Position: Left Wing

NHL Draft status: 47th, 2024

Detroit Hockey Now Ranking: No. 8 Red Wings prospect

Hgt./Wgt: 5-10, 181 pounds

Age/Experience: 20, no professional experience, will play his junior season at Minnesota-Duluth

When it comes to blooming where you are planted, no Detroit prospect had a better 2025-26 season than Plante. As a college sophomore, he won the Hobey Baker Trophy, theoretically crowning him as the best player in college hockey.

It’s no small accomplishment, given that the college game boasted several top echelon NHL prospects, including No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna (Penn State, Toronto Maple Leafs).

Last Season

With 20 goals and 52 points in 40 games, he was among the top scorers in college hockey last season. He now boasts 80 points in his first two collegiate seasons.

That’s not surprising when you consider his father Derek scored 96 goals for Minnesota over four seasons before playing in the NHL.

Max believes he benefitted from growing up under the watchful eye of a former NHLer.

“I think it’s a huge advantage for me,” Max Plante said. “I’m very lucky and fortunate to be around such great hockey people. I’d say my dad probably watches more hockey than anyone probably in the world. So growing up coming home I’d skate on the outdoor rinks, I’d come home and my dad would be watching hockey, so there was nothing else on the TV, I’d just be watching hockey.”

Three Reasons Why Max Plante Will Play in the NHL

1. Slick passer, especially in traffic. Can thread a needle in a congested offensive zone. He’s not timid about going to the net.
2. His shot is underrated. Can pick the corner. Consistently finds the net with his shots. Highly competitive
3. High hockey IQ, smart player who understands his responsibilities whenever he’s on the ice.

What May Hold Him Back

If you watched Plante play for USA against NHL talent at the World Championships, it seemed like he will need adjustment time dealing with the size, strength and pace of the pro game.

Like his dad Derek Plante who played 450 NHL games, Max is below average size for NHL players. But Derek figured out how to cope, scoring 20 or more goals in three of his first four seasons for the Buffalo Sabres. Max will adapt as well

ETA

If the Red Wings had it their way, Max Plante would be playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. They tried to sign him last spring, but he declined. He wanted to return for his junior year because two of his brothers will be on the Minnesota-Duluth roster.

One of the brothers is Victor Plante, a feisty forward with a quality offensive game. He was drafted in June by the Red Wings. Their older brother Zam is a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick.

The expectation is that Max will sign as soon as the college season is over. Depending on if he plays as well as he did last season, we could see the new management team bringing him to Detroit immediately just to see what he can do. Once the Red Wings are done, Plante then could go to the Griffins for the AHL playoffs.

Some NHL teams do bring up youngsters for a couple of games, but that was not former GM Steve Yzerman’s way.

Our best guess is Max Plante will need 20-some games in the AHL to be fully accustomed to pro hockey. That puts him ready to join the Red Wings roster early in the 2027-28 season.

The post No. 8: Red Wings Wanted To Sign Plante Last Spring appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.