A bit more about Max Plante

The Red Wings selected US NTDP alum and incoming University of Minnesota-Duluth freshman Max Plante with the 47th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a profile of Plante…

Plante played this past season for the U.S. National Team Development Program. “Max plays with a lot of pace,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, who oversees USA Hockey’s national teams. “Very good IQ and a lot of courage. He’s a winning hockey player who comes from a great line of great hockey players. He is a fun-loving kid.”

Plante says his dad [NHL’er Derek Plante] probably “taught me pretty much everything I know about hockey.”

He offered two bits of advice for Max in preparation for his draft year. “Be yourself,” Plante recalled his dad saying. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Max and [brother] Zam are making it easy for the family to watch them play next season because they are both playing for Minnesota-Duluth. Of course that’s where their dad played, scoring 96 goals over his four seasons at the school.

“I’m really excited to go play with Zam,” Plante said. “Two years off of playing with each other. I think we probably miss playing with each other, playing give and go hockey together. Hopefully we get to play together this year at Duluth. It’s really special that we’ll be able to play together, a dream come team to play for the Bulldogs.”

As did the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood:

Almost all his life, Max Plante was a short king.

When he tried out for the U.S. National Team Development Program, Plante was barely 5-foot-6 and 127 pounds. Even before then, he was always among the smallest players in his age group. It’s a big reason why Plante loves Brad Marchand, the undersized agitator who has been one of the NHL’s stars for most of his career. Marchand finds a way to overcome his height, and Plante had to do much the same thing.

Consider his height a blessing. When the Red Wings picked Plante 47th overall in Saturday’s 2024 NHL Draft, the pick came because of the skills and competitiveness that being undersized developed. “Growing up” is a key phrase there, because Plante isn’t a small player anymore. True to his name, he grew like a plant, measuring in at 5-foot-11 and 177 pounds now with room to keep growing over time.

“Coming into the Program, I was a short, skinny guy and I went to work the last two years,” Plante said at the NHL Draft. “And I mean, I’ve still got a lot of room to grow in my game and score more goals and get stronger. But over the 17 summer, I thought I got faster and played with more pace.”

Summarizing the Red Wings’ 2024 NHL Draft picks (with links to individual blog posts)

The Detroit Red Wings’ picks in the 2024 NHL Draft are as follows:

In the first round, the Red Wings picked Mora IK alumnus and Skelleftea AIK winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard 15th overall;

In the second round, the Red Wings picked US NTDP alumnus and University of Minnesota-Duluth center Max Plante 47th overall;

In the third round, the Red Wings picked Prince George Cougars center Ondrej Becher 80th overall;

In the fourth round, the Red Wings drafted Soo Greyhounds goaltender Landon Miller 126th overall;

In the fifth round, the Red Wings selected US NTDP defenseman John Whipple 144th overall;

In the sixth round, the Red Wings selected incoming Mora IK winger Charlie Forslund 176th overall;

And in the seventh round, the Red Wings selected incoming Michigan State University winger and US NTDP alumnus Austin Baker 203rd overall, and Dubuque Fighting Saints alum and Colorado College defenseman Fisher Scott 208th overall.

Red Wings select Austin Baker 203rd overall, Fisher Scott 208th overall to wrap up the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted US NTDP winger Austin Baker with the 203rd pick in the 2024 NHL Draft…

And their final pick is defenseman Fisher Scott, picked 208th overall.

Continue reading Red Wings select Austin Baker 203rd overall, Fisher Scott 208th overall to wrap up the 2024 NHL Draft

Red Wings select Charlie Forslund 176th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Red Wings selected big forward Charlie Forslund with the 176th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft:

EliteProspects lists him as a power forward…

Per Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…

Swedish forward Charlie Forslund (176th) can play either wing. He’s proven to be a prolific scorer, albeit at the lower levels of Swedish hockey. Known for his quick release and ability to find open ice in the scoring areas, Forslund would tally 13 goals in only seven games with Falun IF of the second division of Swedish junior hockey.

He also got into 19 games with the Falun IF’s senior squad in HockeyEttan, the Swedish third division. There he’d post 9-10-19 digits.

Next season, Forslund is expecting to play for Mora IK in Sweden’s top junior league.

Red Wings draft John Whipple 144th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted defenseman John Whipple with the 144th overall draft pick in the 2024 NHL Draft

Continue reading Red Wings draft John Whipple 144th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

Red Wings select Landon Miller 126th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have selected Soo Greyhounds goaltender Landon Miller with the 126th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Per the Soo Greyhounds’ website’s Peter Ruicci:

Continue reading Red Wings select Landon Miller 126th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

Red Wings draft Ondrej Becher 80th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Ondrej Becher with the 80th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft:

Per the Hockey News’s Adam Kierszeneblat:

The WHL is set to play a significant role in this year’s 2024 NHL Draft. 57 players were included on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, with a handful expected to be drafted in the first round. Today’s draft profile is of Prince George Cougars’ Ondrej Becher, who enters the draft as the 69th-ranked North American Skater.

After being passed over in the last two drafts, Becher is projected to finally hear his name called by an NHL team. The Czechian winger had a season to remember, recording 96 points in 58 games while also representing his country at the 2024 World Juniors. A player who has an impact on the game at both ends of the ice, he has developed into an intriguing prospect this season. 

Before discussing his offensive ability, Becher’s defensive game needs to be recognized. He is excellent at blocking shots and creates turnovers at a high rate. As for his positioning, Becher understands where he needs to be at all times, making it a frustrating task for the opposition to try and generate chances when he is on the ice.

As for the offensive zone, Becher thrives with the puck on his stick. While he can score, he is a high-end playmaker who can set up teammates in scoring positions. Becher is also a master in the transition game, as he knows whether the best option is to pass the puck off to a teammate or carry it into the offensive zone himself.

Per the Canadian Hockey League’s website:

Continue reading Red Wings draft Ondrej Becher 80th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

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.

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

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

Talking ‘bold offseason moves’ and the late-night Kane tidbit

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal names the Red Wings among 7 teams which “need to make an offseason splash” in a pre-free agency article:

Steve Yzerman’s stunning trade to give up a second-round pick to offload Jake Walman’s contract ($3.4 million AAV for two seasons) must be a sign that he has something major up his sleeve. There aren’t many other reasonable justifications for being that desperate to clear cap space.

After the Walman trade, we estimated that the Red Wings could have just over $13 million to play with after you plug in Evolving-Hockey’s RFA estimates for Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno. They’ll need to add a few depth pieces to the lineup (most likely through calling up young players internally), but after that, they’ll still have the room to chase a couple of impact players.

Adding top-six help should be high on Yzerman’s wish list. Re-signing Patrick Kane or taking a run at Steven Stamkos given Yzerman’s ties are a couple of possibilities that immediately come to mind. On the back end, it’d be ideal to land a shutdown top-four righty. An upgrade in goal would provide a substantial boost too. Detroit may need to carve out even more room — perhaps through a Justin Holl buyout, as one example — to effectively address all three of those needs.

Continued (paywall); if you missed last night’s TSN video…

Insider Chris Johnston said: “Patrick Kane is still in discussions with the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent last season, I think there’s at least a reasonable chance he ends up as a Red Wing. There’s been a lot of people connecting him to the Rangers, maybe to his hometown Buffalo Sabres, but it sounds like Detroit’s still in decent position, if they can get an agreement on term there…”

Just the Wings’ type

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood did something interesting in a notebook article filed from the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas–he looked back at Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s early remarks regarding his hopes for the Wings’ 15th overall pick, which turned out to be Michael Brandsegg-Nygard:

Before the draft, Yzerman said, “That 15th pick, that’s still a pretty high pick. It’s important that we get a good player. It’s important that honestly we get a player that plays for us in the NHL [eventually]. We need that. It’s not as simple as we all think or as automatic as we all like to think it is. When you’re picking high, you wanna make sure that you get a good prospect, regardless of the position. I think over the course of each draft, you have to really start thinking about…how many prospects you have at each position, because ultimately, when they turn pro, you’ve got to find a spot for them to play.”

It’s an explanation that comports with the player he ultimately selected. Brandsegg-Nygård arguably jumps immediately to the top of Detroit’s prospect rankings along the wing (not necessarily in terms of his distance from NHL minutes right not but rather overall upside), and his game mirrors the exact style the Red Wings want to play.

With this selection, Yzerman is doubling down on the idea that the team he is building won’t try to boat race opponents 7-6 and 6-5. Instead, he wants a physical, aggressive, forechecking squad, not dissimilar to the Panthers outfit that just lifted the Cup. There are lots of ways to evaluate a draft pick, but in terms of fit, it could hardly get better for Detroit than Brandsegg-Nygård.

Continued; as I said last night, the Red Wings definitely have a “type” of player which they look to select in the first round of the NHL Draft, and while it’s not a sniper like Cole Eiserman or a power forward like Liam Greentree, Detroit’s amateur scouts have spent the past five drafts looking for a player with all-round skills who can play a two-way game, hold his own physically, and is a self-starter and self-improver.