Max Plante, the Red Wings’ second-round pick (47th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft and the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner, will miss Minnesota Duluth’s two-game series at Augustana this weekend because of an upper-body injury, Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said this week.
Plante was hurt during UMD’s season-opening weekend against Long Island, a two-game sweep in which he picked up two assists while skating on a line with his brothers, Zam and Victor. Sandelin did not give a timeline for his return or describe the injury beyond its general location, according to College Hockey News.
The absence is a rare one for the Hermantown, Minnesota, product in recent seasons. Plante played every game for Duluth as a sophomore in 2025-26, when he scored 25 goals and added 27 assists for 52 points in 40 games. He tied for second nationally in goals, finished third in points, and became the first Red Wings draft pick to win the Hobey Baker as college hockey’s top player.
Injuries have cost him time before. As a freshman, he missed a significant stretch after an upper-body injury suffered in a game against Bemidji State.
The Plante family connection to Detroit grew this summer when the Red Wings selected Victor, Max’s younger brother, 47th overall in the 2026 draft, the same slot Max went two years earlier. Zam, the oldest of the three, is a 2022 fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Plante returned to Duluth for his junior season rather than turning pro, making him one of the most closely watched prospects in Detroit’s pipeline. Mitten Hockey will follow his status as UMD moves toward NCHC play.
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