Red Wings draft Max Plante 47th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Max Plante with the 47th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sAku7auqui0%3Fsi%3DUnckppYGcrxo5uS5

In the article department, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale on June 3rd…

Max Plante learned long ago to never be completely satisfied after a practice or game.

“It’s something my father told me,” he said. “Sure, he wants me to do a good job, but he also gives me little tips and tricks for how I should be playing and could be better. He knows so much about hockey and has been around the game for so long. He watches more hockey than anyone I know, so I’ll always try and listen to him and follow his lead to become an even better player.”

His dad is Derek Plante, who spent eight seasons in the NHL, including five with the Buffalo Sabres. Selected by Buffalo in the eighth round (No. 161) of the 1989 NHL Draft, Plante finished his NHL career with 248 points (96 goals, 152 assists) in 450 games for the Sabres, Dallas Stas, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. He’s currently an assistant coach with the Blackhawks.

Max has remained true to dad’s advice on his journey to the NHL as a left wing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team this season.

And EP Rinkside’s Russ Cohen, on January 17th:

“It helps a lot being around hockey all the time. My dad has been in the industry his whole life. I learned all the steps to take in my hockey career from him,” Plante told EP Rinkside. “My older brother is doing everything for me, and I look up to him. My younger brother helps all of us push each other.”

Even though he sees himself as a winger, he can play centre as well.

“I play mostly wing. I play both positions. I’m an all-around forward. I can make plays quickly,” Plante added. “I don’t score too many goals, but when you put the puck in the net, it’s always fun. My ability to make quick plays by using my teammates. Thinking the game. I want to grow my skill set. Playing centre is fun. I guess battling more in the D-zone and taking face-offs is fun.”

Plante is a good two-way player who doesn’t make mistakes with the puck. He has a good hockey IQ, and he is a 24/7 hockey lifer.

“Just trying to read the play helps with my defensive game,” Plante admitted. “I can always work on being better. Like the third guy high so I can track better in the defensive zone. I feel like my D-zone has been getting there.”

Per Fox 21’s Neil Vierzba:

HERMANTOWN, Minn.- The Plante family has plenty of ties to the NHL.

Derek Plante played eight seasons in the league and won the Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Dallas Stars. His son, Zam was drafted in 2022 by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Now, Max, who will be Zam’s teammate at UMD this year, is slated to hear his name called by an NHL Club. Max Plante is currently ranked 43rd for North American Skaters in the 2024 Draft Prospect Rankings.

Based off of mock drafts, the former Hermantown Hawk is projected to go either in the 3rd or 4th round on Saturday. Plante took part in the NHL scouting combine a few weeks ago in Buffalo and said he met with most teams. He added it’s not about where he goes, it’s about the process going forward.

“Expectations are high, I want to get as high as I can get picked. End all, be all, I don’t really think where I get picked matters now, I think it’s the work that I put in after. My brother got picked, my dad got picked, so hopefully I can beat them,” said Max.

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Per the Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington:

Max Plante has played a lot of left wing for the Under-18 team and participated in the Under-18 world championships in Finland. He scored two goals in a semifinal win over Slovakia, but the U.S. lost to Canada 6-4 in the gold medal game. He had six goals and 29 points in 23 games this season.

A seminal month in Macklin Celebrini’s hockey life kicked off the last few days in Buffalo. It will reach a crescendo on June 28 in Las Vegas when the San Jose Sharks are virtually certain to make the Boston University center the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft and their new franchise building block.

“I think I’ve got a ways to go,” Max Plante said. “I’m pretty confident in the way I played this year. Obviously gotta get stronger, faster, better with my (skating) edgework. Probably the biggest key thing is I have to score more goals.”

“He’s unreal, a super-good passer, and I really enjoyed playing with him,” said USNTDP winger Cole Eiserman, who spent some time as Max Plante’s linemate this season. “He’s definitely going to continue to get bigger and develop, and he’s going to be a really good player.”

And the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Sarah McLellan:

The garage at the Plantes’ Hermantown home isn’t usually a shrine to middle child Max, but that’s how the space looked for his high school graduation party.

His jerseys hung side by side, medals dangled off hockey sticks suspended from the ceiling, and Max’s state championship ring was on display. Photo collages showed him on the ice, fishing and with his friends. One of mom Kristi’s favorite pictures was near the Minnesota Duluth memorabilia: a snapshot of her three sons and husband, Derek, in hockey gear and Kristi dressed as a referee.

Max’s artwork, drawings of hockey players, were also framed and covering the walls.

“It’s pretty Max-ed out in here,” Max said.

Soon the Plantes could have another reason to celebrate.

Max is among the top-ranked Minnesotans eligible for the NHL draft, which begins Friday in Las Vegas, and the 18-year-old’s selection would add to an already impressive family legacy that’s stretched far beyond its local roots.

“Hockey is not the most important thing in the world,” Derek Plante said. “But it’s what we do, and it’s important to us. We know it’s not more important than being a doctor and saving someone’s life. It’s just a sport. But that doesn’t mean we can’t give it our all.”

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From his EliteProspects profile:

Ranked #72 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #85 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #65 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #33 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #105 by THN/KENNEDY
Ranked #91 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #73 by FLOHOCKEY/CHRIS PETERS
Ranked #47 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #55 by DAILY FACEOFF
Ranked #43 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #128 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #48 by SPORTSNET/BUKALA
Ranked #65 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #93 by DOBBERPROSPECTS

Per the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton:

47th overall: Max Plante, LW, U.S. National Team Development Program

Plante scored 61 points in 51 games last season for the U-18 U.S. NTDP team.  He is committed to play next year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.  EliteProspects’ Draft Guide described him as “among the draft’s best backhand passers” to along with “an industrious defensive game,” while suggesting that he has room for growth in terms of physical skills and dynamism.

And NHL.com’s draft guide:

MAX PLANTE
Left Wing | USA U-18 (NTDP) Born: Duluth, Minn.
No. 43-ranked North American Skater

Posted 15-46—61 in 51 contests with Team USA’s NTDP Under-18 team, ranking second on the team in assists and sixth in points. * The Univ. of Minnesota Duluth commit ranked third on Team USA’s NTDP Under-17 team in points and second in assists during the 2022-23 season, with 11-35—46 (54 GP). * Collected 2-9—11 (7 GP) en route to a silver medal with Team USA at the 2024 Under-18 World Championship – tied for the fourth-most points among his teammates.

He also won gold at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he ranked second among all players in the tournament in assists (0-10—10 in 7 GP). * Comes from a hockey family as his father, Derek Plante, skated in 450 career games in the NHL and totaled 96-152—248 split between the Sabres, Stars, Blackhawks and Flyers. Derek served as assistant coach of the Blackhawks in 2023-24.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Plays top six minutes and in all situations. Compete level and intensity make him an excellent forechecker. Uses elite vision and hockey sense to create scoring chances. Moves the puck quickly making it difficult to defend the offensive opportunities he creates.

Also: Per EliteProspects’ Joey Padmanabahan, last November:

Max Plante, C, USNTDP U18s (2024 NHL Draft)

NCAA commitment: Minnesota-Duluth

One of the U18s best playmakers, Max Plante has come out of the gates hot this season, with 21 points in 15 games with the program as of this writing. The name of the game with this forward is facilitation. He’s a deft passer, making a move or two to manipulate opponents’ feet before slipping the puck through defensive layers, allowing his teammates to take over from there.

There’s some diversity to his rush game, too. Plante doesn’t always attack in straight lines, and often does well to cut back and utilize space created inside the blue line where appropriate. Plante has demonstrated some real craftiness this season, with a few pretty spin-o-rama and behind the back passes. He pre-scans before getting possession and has some dexterity in his distribution; he’s just as dangerous on his backhand as his forehand.

The foot speed and strength will have to improve at higher levels for him to continue having success, but it’s not hard to see a scenario where Plante cements himself as a late-first or early-second round pick by the end of the season.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 29: Max Plante is selected by the Detroit Red Wings with the 47th overall pick during the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Sphere on June 29, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Also, per Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould:

Here’s what Daily Faceoff‘s Steven Ellis has to say about Plante, who slotted in at No. 55 on his final 2024 NHL Draft rankings:

“Plante is one of the better playmakers in this class. He has skated alongside some of the USNTDP’s top talent and has excellent hand-eye coordination. Plante isn’t big, but he’s always looking to make a smart pass, and it pays off. He has put up good numbers, although I feel like he can get caught trying to make passes when he should just shoot the puck.”

Of the 51 games Plante played with the USNTDP during his draft year, 25 of them were in the USHL, where he collected six goals and 29 points.

Plante also spent his draft-minus-one season with the USNTDP, managing 11 goals and 46 points in 54 games. The 5’11”, 176-pound forward collected 10 points (all assists) in seven games with Team USA at the 2023 U-17 World Hockey Challenge, winning a gold medal.

Here’s the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

Plante, a 5-foot-11, 177-pound left wing, played in 25 games last season with six goals and 23 assists.

Many scouting services view Plante as one of the best passers in this draft class. Plante isn’t big physically, but he compensates with the ability to find openings on the ice and has good quickness.

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:

Max Plante’s stature in growing in hockey circles and the Detroit Red Wings proved to be enamored with how he’s sizing up. The Red Wings made the son of former NHL forward Derek Plante the 47th player chosen as the second day of the NHL entry draft got underway Saturday morning.

In two years, Plante shot up from 5-foot-6, 127 pounds to his current stature of 5-11 and 177. Last season, he accounted for six goals and 29 points in 25 games for the USNTDP in the USHL.

“I just got faster and stronger,” Plante said. “Coming into the (USA Hockey) program I was a short, skinny guy. I went to work the last two years and I thought I got faster and played with a lot more pace.

“(Adding) 50 pounds and five inches, I guess that’s a lot.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!