Hermantown's Max Plante Named Hobey Baker Award Finalist for Top NCAA Hockey Honor

Max Plante grew up watching his father's name in the UMD record books. Now the 20-year-old Hermantown native is chasing a legacy that would put both of them in a category no other family in college hockey has reached.

Plante, a sophomore winger for the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, was named one of three finalists for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA men's ice hockey. He joins University of Denver defenseman Eric Pohlkamp and University of Michigan senior captain TJ Hughes as the "Hobey Hat Trick" finalists, selected from an initial pool of 10 candidates by a 30-member committee. The winner will be announced April 10 at the Presidio Ballroom at Park MGM Las Vegas, airing live on NHL Network from 5 to 6 p.m. PST.

The family dimension sets this story apart from any other in Hobey Baker history. Max and his father Derek Plante are only the second father-son pair ever to both reach the finalist stage. Derek played at UMD from 1989 to 1993, captaining the Bulldogs his senior year while leading all of NCAA hockey with 92 points (36 goals, 56 assists) and earning a finalist nod that ultimately went to Maine freshman Paul Kariya. Derek went on to play 450 NHL games, winning the 1999 Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, and is now a professional scout for the Ottawa Senators. Max's brother Zam, a Pittsburgh Penguins 2022 fifth-round pick, is also a UMD sophomore forward and plays on the same line as Max alongside Jayson Shaugabay.

Max's case for the award rests on numbers that are difficult to argue with. He finished the 2025-26 season with 25 goals, 27 assists, and 52 points in 40 games, ranking third nationally in points and shots on goal while tied for second in goals. He posted 8 power play goals, recorded a point in 29 of 40 games, and closed the year on a five-game scoring streak of 3 goals and 4 assists. Against 2026 NCAA Tournament opponents specifically, he tallied 15 points in 14 games. He also suited up for Team USA at the 2026 World Junior Championship.

Individual honors arrived before the Hobey Baker nod. Plante was named 2026 NCHC Player of the Year, only the second Bulldog ever to win that award and the first since defenseman Scott Perunovich in 2019-20 — who went on to win the Hobey Baker that spring. Plante also earned NCHC Forward of the Year and a unanimous First Team All-NCHC selection. A 2024 second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, he ranks 36th on NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of North American skaters for the 2026 draft.

UMD head coach Scott Sandelin, now in his 26th season with the program, has watched this finalist script play out before. The three previous Bulldogs named finalists under his watch — Junior Lessard in 2004, Jack Connolly in 2012, and Perunovich in 2020 — all won the award. Sandelin, a Hobey Baker finalist himself as a North Dakota defenseman in 1986, captured what separates Plante from a typical standout.

"He loves to play the game, loves being at the rink and he loves being a hockey player," Sandelin said. "I think that can rub off on a lot of people. He likes to be in the moments. He wants to score that big goal. He wants to make that play, but he also doesn't care if somebody else does."

UMD leads all NCAA programs with six Hobey Baker winners. A victory on April 10 would make Plante the seventh, and the first ever from Hermantown.