UMD hockey keeps key players, builds momentum for next season

Key UMD hockey players are choosing stability over a quick jump to pro hockey, and that gives the Bulldogs something valuable in an offseason when rosters can change fast: a higher floor for next winter.

For a program that just got back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 and beat Penn State in Albany for its first NCAA win since then, that continuity matters. UMD’s postseason record now stands at 30-14-0 all-time, and coach Scott Sandelin’s teams are 24-8-0 in NCAA postseason play since he arrived in 2000-01. The Bulldogs have won three national titles, in 2011, 2018 and 2019, and they are trying to turn another tournament appearance into more than a one-weekend run.

The biggest offseason gain is not a new signing or a transfer portal splash. It is the fact that the Bulldogs are keeping key players in Duluth instead of watching them leave for NHL contracts, a trend that has thinned rosters across college hockey. That kind of retention protects chemistry, shortens the learning curve and gives UMD a chance to build on what it already has rather than start over.

Max Plante, listed by UMD as a 5-foot-11, 180-pound sophomore forward from Hermantown for 2025-26, reflected that mindset as the Bulldogs looked ahead to next season. The current core, along with players already committed to stay, gives UMD a chance to remain competitive in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, where the schedule is only getting harder.

Help is also on the way. UMD formally announced a six-player recruiting class for 2026-27 that includes Victor Plante and Kade Kohanski of Hermantown, Keith McInnis of Red Deer, Alberta, Carter Murphy of The Woodlands, Texas, and Superior, Wisconsin defenseman Jackson Marthaler. That group adds depth at a time when the Bulldogs will need it, not just star power.

For St. Louis County and the Twin Ports hockey market, the payoff is bigger than one roster decision. UMD has long been one of the region’s marquee sports programs, and a team that keeps its core intact carries more momentum into the next season than one forced into a rebuild. The Bulldogs have already shown they can win when the bracket opens, and now they are trying to make sure that next season begins with a roster built to do it again.