Red Wings select Victor Plante 47th overall

With the 47th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Red Wings selected NTDP center and incoming Minnesota-Duluth freshman Victor (Brother of Max) Plante:

Updated 9x at 12:55 PM: Per EliteProspects, Plante is only 5’10” and 163 pounds. Here’s their scouting report:

Prospect profile

Every year, through the scouting process, we come across players who combine an admirable, easy-to-appreciate playstyle with an unfortunate lack of projectability. Victor Plante epitomizes this imbalance.

There were times we considered Plante as high as a late first-round pick, but he plateaued on our list at 35th and 36th for a few months. Eventually, other players with more advanced projections and comparables won out.

Few in this class have Plante’s advanced short-range passing game. He has an NHL-level feel for exploiting coverages, pulling checks out of space, slipping pucks to teammates against the grain, attacking defenders, and executing in motion.

He pairs that passing ability with an outstanding motor. Plante can play all three roles on the forecheck: either sprinting to disrupt first-touch, supporting from the weak side, or flying above the play as an F3 to collapse on an opponent. He’s going to be an easy plug-and-play player in the NCAA immediately.

Without the requisite size that would allow him to earn top opportunities in the NHL, though, Plante’s offensive game is unlikely to translate to future levels. A motor can only carry a prospect in his archetype so far – he will need to find a specific role in college and further improve his tools and physical game to project his game to the NHL better.

Plante ended up 51st on our list, comfortably in a B-grade range. We feel confident that, at Minnesota-Duluth, he will continue to find success playing his streamlined game alongside both of his brothers. Further physical growth will help him win more battles, stay on pucks, continue to use his approach, and find a middle-six secondary scoring role in the NHL down the road.

Update #2:

Update #3: From the Duluth News-Tribune:

Victor Plante’s ranking varies greatly among the draftniks, with The Athletic’s Corey Proman having the youngest Plante brother going No. 108 overall to the New Jersey Devils in the full seven-round mock draft he did last week.

Two different rankings by The Hockey News are 31 places apart — No. 53 in one and No. 22 in another — while a data consultant at ESPN this week ranked Victor Plante No. 49.

TSN Scouting Director Craig Button has Victor Plante ranked No. 33 in his final draft rankings for 2026, which is exactly the same spot he had Max Plante in 2024.

Max Plante was asked to give a scouting report on his little brother this spring after returning from Las Vegas. He stood by his comment in Vegas that Victor could be the best of the brothers, who will all get the chance to play together for the first time in their careers at UMD in 2026-27.

Victor is “very unselfish” and a pass-first player like his brothers, though he’ll “dangle” more than Zam or Max, said Max. Victor has always been more of a goalscorer, however, than his older brothers. He has a “good one-timer,” Max said.

According to Max Plante, Victor’s best asset came after he moved from Hermantown to Chicago in 2022 with his parents after Derek Plante — now a pro scout with the Ottawa Senators — joined the coaching staff of the Chicago Blackhawks.

While Victor Plante did not get to play for the Hermantown High School Hawks, play in the Minnesota boys state hockey tournament or win a Class A state championship like his brothers, he did get to hang around the likes of Patrick Kane — and his dad, Patrick Kane Sr. — and Connor Bedard before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan.

Max said being around NHL players, while playing Midget AAA hockey with the Chicago Mission as a 14- and 15-year old helped turn Victor Plante into a hard worker who never complains.

“When he made the move from Hermantown to Chicago, I think it helped him a lot,” said Max Plante, who also played for USA Hockey’s NTDP. “It was a huge year for him. He started to see what those NHLers did. Now every day he is the hardest working, never complains.”

From NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale:

Victor Plante of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team might be the one player at the NHL Scouting Combine with the resources necessary to get the upper hand on the competition. That’s because Plante has two older brothers who have already been through the event’s gauntlet of interviews and tests.

Zam Plante attended the 2022 combine and was selected in the fifth round (No. 150) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2022 NHL Draft. Max Plante attended the 2024 combine and was chosen in the second round (No. 47) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Their father, Derek Plante, was picked by the Buffalo Sabres in the eighth round (No. 161) of the 1989 NHL Draft, which was pre-NHL Combine. The first formal combine event was held in 1994. 

“The first thing I asked them was what kind of clothes I should wear, and they just said to keep it classy, keep it casual,” Victor said. “Then I’m like, ‘How should I be in the interviews?’ and they said to just be yourself and be honest. I mean, you’re one of 90 guys here that get to do this, so just have fun with it.”

Victor (No. 42 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters) will join brothers Max and Zam at The University of Minnesota Duluth in the fall where the three were promised they’d get to play at least one game on the same line together. 

“It’s going to be awesome,” Victor said. “I mean, I never got to play with those two. They’ve always been able to play with each other. But I’m so excited. It should be so much fun.”

Max Plante underwent two cardiac ablations last off-season to correct an irregular heartbeat caused by Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. He fully recovered in time for his sophomore season at Minnesota Duluth and won the 2026 Hobey Baker Award as the best NCAA Division I men’s hockey player. 

“I mean, going into this year … he had heart surgery in the summer so no one really could have (seen) that coming,” Victor said. “The amount of work he put in is so cool. Just to see him win it … it just paid off. I’m so proud to be his little brother. It was awesome.”

Update #4: From the Hockey News’s Jake Tye:

Following a standout season with the USNTDP, the draft-eligible winger reflects on his intimidating meeting with Steve Yzerman and the prospect of a twin-engine future in Detroit.

With the noise surrounding Dylan Larkin’s potential departure from the Motor City dominating the headlines, Red Wings fans could use some good news, and it may be coming from an unlikely source. 

Victor Plante, brother of Detroit‘s 2024 second-round pick Max Plante and an expected second-round selection himself, revealed at Saturday’s NHL Scouting Combine that he sat down with the Red Wings during the interview phase of the week’s proceedings.

“Yeah it was a pretty fun interview,” Plante said. “I mean, Steve Yzerman is in there, a little intimidating, but yeah, it was fun.”

The 18-year-old Hermantown, Minnesota native is coming off a strong season with the U.S. National Development Program. Plante finished with 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 57 games with the U.S. National U18 Team, while also recording 18 points in 20 games with the USNTDP Juniors against USHL competition. 

He capped the season by representing the United States at the U18 World Championships, where he posted a goal and four assists for a point-per-game pace across five tournament games.

Update #5: From the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

Red Wings draft forward Victor Plante at No. 47.

Plante is the brother or Max Plante, who the Wings drafted at No. 47 in 2024. Victor Plante is headed to the University of Minnesota Duluth in the fall.

Victor Plante was with the US NTDP in 2025-26, recording 48 points in 57 games with the U18 team and 18 points in. 20 games with the junior team in the USHL.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith…

Round 2, #47 Overall-

With the 47 pick in the Draft the Red Wings selected Victor Plante. Brother of Red Wings prospect Max Plante.

Victor comes out of the US National Development Program at the moment. However, he will be joining his brother at University of Minnesota Duluth to play in the next year. Though slightly undersized, Victor plays a similar cerebral, smart game that allows him to find the soft spots in defenses and score.

Update #6:

Here’s more from the Hockey News’s Jake Tye:

Detroit mirrors history by snagging the versatile NTDP forward at the exact spot they took his brother Max, solidifying a high-motor legacy rooted in deep hockey pedigree.

Much of the brother storyline at the 2026 NHL Draft centered on the Ruck twins, both selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in one of the feel-good moments of the weekend. But they were not the only set of brothers headed to the same organization. On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings quietly added their own family chapter, using the 47th overall pick to select Victor Plante, the younger brother of Red Wings blue

The pick carries a poetic quality as Max Plante was chosen by Detroit in the second round, also 47th overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft. Two years later, the Red Wings went back to that same spot and came away with his younger brother, giving the organization two Plantes in the pipeline and one of the more compelling family storylines in the prospect world.

Victor was one of the top players for the NTDP this past season, recording 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 57 games with the U.S. National U18 Team, while also adding eight goals and ten assists for 18 points in 20 USHL games with the USNTDP Juniors. He is not a flashy player, but brings a high-end motor, strong hockey sense and the versatility to contribute in all situations.

Victor is committed to UMD as an incoming freshman, and there is a possibility that oldest brother Zam, who was also at UMD with Max this past season, could be on the roster as well. If that comes together, all three brothers could skate together in Duluth, which would be a first.

The Plante family connection to UMD is deep and genuine as their father Derek spent four seasons with the Bulldogs and captained the team in his final year before embarking on a professional career that saw him record 248 points in 450 NHL games as a forward with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. He was selected by Buffalo in the eighth round of the 1989 NHL Draft and went on to far exceed expectations at the pro level.

Zam was taken in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2022 NHL Draft, and now with Max and Victor both in Detroit‘s system, the Red Wings have quietly cornered the market on one of hockey’s most accomplished families. Whether both brothers can develop into NHL contributors remains to be seen, but the foundation they are building together at every level gives Detroit every reason to be optimistic.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted a non-embeddable video of Plante speaking with the media.

Update #7: Here’s a different video of Plante from the Red Wings:

Update #8: Here’s more from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Their other brother, Zam, a 2022 pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins, was also at the draft, along with father Derek Plante, a former NHLer, their mom and multiple other family members.

“My parents are pumped,” Plante said, smiling. “Makes it easier on my mom.”

Growing up with Zam, 21, and Max, 20, helped shape Plante.

“It definitely built me to the guy I am today,” he said. “You’re getting beat up every day against those two, and everything’s competitive. Like, there wasn’t one time we weren’t doing anything competitive. If we’re raking leaves, it’s at a pace, so it definitely shaped me. Maybe why I’m a little tough − a little bit, not much.”

Plante (5 foot 10, 165 pounds) has spent the past several seasons playing for the NTDP. He posted 21 goals and 27 assists in 48 games last season with the U18 team.

Plante described himself as “kind of an energy guy. Likes to help out the team, try to win, try to score some goals here and there. I just need to work on getting stronger, a little heavier, definitely faster.”

…

“I’ve heard a lot from Max,” Plante said. “He tells me how great it is. It’s an Original Six franchise. Everything about it is on me all the time. Especially with Chris Osgood. He took me to, like, four or five games this year, which is pretty sick. It’s great.”

Update #9: From the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

Victor said there were approximately 16 family members in attendance in Buffalo, New York for the draft.

“They’re all pumped,” he said. “It (being drafted to the Wings, like Max) will make it easier for my mom (not having to choose sides).”

Plante had 48 points (21 goals, 27 assists) in 57 games with the Plymouth Township-based U.S. National Team Development Program.

“I’m an energy guy who likes to help the team win,” Plante said. “I try to score goals here and there.”

Plante lived with the family of former Wings goaltender Chris Osgood this past season.

“It was great, he’s a fun guy to be around,” Plante said. “He took me to about four or five games. It was sick. It’s unreal. It’s Hockeytown for a reason. They live and breathe hockey. The fans are so passionate. There’s so much energy in the building, so much fun. Just the history, it’s awesome.”

All three Plante brothers, including Zam, a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect, will play at Minnesota-Duluth this season.

“It’s going to be so much fun,” Victor said. “Just being able to play with them. The Hobey Baker winner (Max), that’s going to be so sick. It’ll be awesome. We’ll have a good team, so I’m excited.”

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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!

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