It's Time to Give Max Plante His Due

By Zak Egan (@LGRWProspects) - WWP Contributor

© Rena Laverty, NTDP

Max Plante is coming off an impressive true freshman season at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Plante, a 5’ 11” 180 pound left-handed left winger (something the Red Wings are lacking), finished the year with 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 23 games. That's good for 1.22ppg, which puts Max in some good company historically among true freshmen.

It’s unlikely that Plante lives up to most of these big names, but it's a positive sign nonetheless. You will undoubtedly notice that Max has significantly fewer games played compared to most of this list. Unfortunately, that is because he sustained a wrist injury during the first weekend of games against Bemidji State. After he came back, he did not have a weekend series in the NCHC where he did not have a point. His performances resulted in Plante receiving two NCHC Rookie of the Week awards and also landed him on the NCHC All-Rookie team. I do not think plus-minus is a good statistic in most cases, however Max was a +5 on a team that only had six players that were plus players. Aside from his college accomplishments, Max also won the gold medal at the WJC putting up a goal and 2 assists in 6 games. Moving past the impressive numbers and accomplishments, let's look at what makes Max an exciting NHL prospect.

Vision and Playmaking

Max has an incredible view of the game. He can see a cross-ice passing lane in a split second after receiving the puck. I think part of Max’s success as a playmaker is how quickly he sees the play and how quickly he makes the decision. A lethal combination to have on a power play. Here's a video example:

Max doesn’t just make stationary plays. He can create space for others by beating a man, drawing the opposition's eyes to him, and dishing it off to a teammate. I thought that throughout the season his line of M. Plante, Z. Plante, and Shaugabay was mainly driven by Max. All of them are NHL-drafted players with skill and NHL traits, but Max is the one who does a bit of everything and largely creates a lot of the offense.

Plante is very good at playing "one-twos" with teammates or finding a player in a shooting position off the cycle, all of which are the types of passing plays that you want to see and are translatable at the next level. Max can pass through traffic or create space for others, but I think one of the things that puts his vision and playmaking ability a step above others is his ability to see where a teammate is going to be and making a pass into space before the player actually arrives in that space. This saucer pass between two opposition players is one of my favorite passes I saw this season:

Shot and Scoring Ability

I think Max’s high-end playmaking ability sometimes overshadows other aspects of his game, one of those being his shot and goal scoring abilities. Max may have only had nine NCAA goals and one WJC goal but he did score a variety of goals, and there is reason to believe there may be more scoring to his game. Max scored bumper one-timers, transition goals, tip-ins, and loose puck net front goals, but a lot of his tallies boil down to having a quick release. Max has a pretty hard shot but I personally feel that it's his release (specifically getting the puck off his stick quickly) which helps him score goals. The other aspect that helps with his scoring goes back to his vision and hockey IQ. He has a knack for either getting to the net and finding a loose puck or creating/finding space for a teammate to find him for a goal scoring opportunity.

This video has every goal he scored this year:

My favorite goal of his this year showcased a lot of who Plante is as a player. He tracks back up the ice after a forecheck, strips the defenseman, comes in, settles the puck, and rips it shortside. A great display of his quick release and the power he can have in his shot:

A lot of Plante’s transition goals are the result of him putting pressure on an opposing player, forcing a turnover (or pressuring them into making a play that results in a turnover). This leads me to the next areas of strength in Max Plante’s game: Competitiveness and Hockey IQ.

Competitiveness and Hockey IQ

Plante is great at hunting pucks - he gets in on the forecheck and competes hard below the goal line. He has a great active stick that results in a lot of forced turnovers. Max sees passing lanes not only offensively, but defensively as well; he uses his active stick to get into lanes and break up passing plays pretty consistently. For the most part, I think Plante is engaged in the play defensively, making good reads as defensemen jump in from the blue line. Plante isn’t going to throw big hits, but he isn’t afraid of physicality or engaging in board battles (which he often wins). He is simlarly not afraid to take pucks to the net, or get to the netfront and withstand punishment from opposing defenders. Plante currently plays in all situations for UMD: power play, penalty kill, 6v5 down a goal, 6v5 up a goal - he does it all. Here is a good example of Max covering the point for a defenseman pinching in: he realizes his man has snuck in behind him and the other defenseman, backchecks, and takes the body.

Plante has a good motor but he himself admits that he needs to build on his endurance.

Weaknesses & Areas of Improvement

There are a few areas in which I think Plante will have to improve. The first being a common one with prospects his age: just filling out, putting on some weight and strength. I think Max does an excellent job battling for pucks and knows how to use his body to protect pucks, but there are times where he comes up against a player who is simply much bigger, older, and stronger that can knock him off the puck. Putting on strength and size will obviously help in this area, along with battling in front of the net. Adding strength, especially in the lower half, could also benefit his skating & explosiveness.

I do not think that Max’s skating is bad by any means (and actually think when he is at full speed he’s a good skater) but there is always room for improvement when talking about reaching the NHL level. He tends to lean forward a bit, which can lead to putting his head in a vulnerable position with the puck. I think his feet are quick and light, but adding some strength could add a bit more speed in rapid, explosive bursts. If those first three steps have a bit more behind strength behind them, I think it will benefit him immensely.

The other aspect that I view as an area of improvement is turnovers. Max is an incredible passer, and as such there are going to be turnovers (just by virtue of handling the puck so much). For example, Nikita Kucherov was 6th in the NHL for giveaways this past season and is simultaneously regarded as one of the best passers in the NHL. So, you have to understand that there are going to be some turnovers, but if Plante can limit them without taking away from some of the highly skilled/high-risk passes that he does make, it would help to elevate his playmaking even further. That is obviously a tough line to walk. Still, there were times where Max did seem to be trying to force something that just might not have been there, and those are the type of passes you’d like to eliminate.

Projection 

I view Max Plante as a future potential top-six left winger. Now, the likelihood that he reaches that level is hard to say, but he has the tools. Plante has shown at the college level what you want to see as a D+1 NHL prospect. He has shown he can be a line-driver, a playmaker, a player that can play at pace, and someone who competes his tail off. For these reasons I believe Plante is a prospect that fans should have some optimism and be genuinely excited about.