Brothers Max and Victor Plante spoke with the Red Wings’ media corps yesterday, and, this morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of the comments both players made during their press conference:
The two were on a podium seated next to each other at Little Caesars Arena on Monday, June 29, fresh off the first day of development camp. It was a special moment, coming just days after the Detroit Red Wings had drafted Victor at No. 47 in the 2026 NHL draft, two years after drafting Max at the same spot.
“Coming into the week, that was kind of Detroit’s first pick,” Max said. “So I was kind of just trying to stay all week, like, ‘I hope it’s Victor.’ It ended up being it, so it was pretty surreal. Awesome we get to play together next year, but then hopefully in the future we can play on the top level together.”
The Wings didn’t have a first-round pick until they traded Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth for pick No. 23, where the Wings selected J.P. Hurlbert. Victor, 18, was part of the Day 2 haul. Like his brother Max, Victor is considered a very smart, competitive hockey player with a passion for the game.
“I think he just competes the whole time,” Max said. “I think a lot of people look at stats and stuff, and then he obviously does have quite a bit of points. But if you go and watch their team this year, if there was a guy that really flashed out to you, I feel like he was kind of the player that kind of stuck out to you, not only on the ice, but just in the locker room, too. He’s my brother, but just listening to what people talk about him, he’s a great kid.”
Continued (paywall); as St. James notes, the Plante brothers will join their eldest brother, Zam, at Minnesota-Duluth this upcoming season.
Max won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player last season, too.
