No. 13: Red Wings Youngest Plante is a Pittbull

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Editor’s Note: This is the 13th installment of a Detroit Hockey Now series assessing the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects’ path to the NHL. The emphasis will be on what their chances are of playing regularly in the NHL and when we can expect to see them wearing the Winged Wheel.

Position: Left Wing

NHL Draft status: 47th, 2026

Detroit Hockey Now Ranking: No. 13 Red Wings prospect

Hgt./Wgt: 5-10, 165 pounds

Age/Experience: 18, No pro experience, starting his college career at Minnesota-Duluth

It’s fair to wonder whether Victor Plante is a lovely parting gift that Steve Yzerman is leaving the Detroit Red Wings.

This is a very entertaining player.

He is the son of former NHLer Derek Plante and the younger brother of Detroit prospect Max Plante and Pittsburgh prospect Zam. Victor is a fire starter, a gritty, skilled sparkplug player.

Slick passer. Perpetual energy. Always keeps his engine running.

Victor Plante(2nd round’26) 6 Assists in 5GP in the WJSS#LGRW#BulldogCountrypic.twitter.com/RETKG9GNBx

He’s a slick passer, a dedicated playmaker and can make things happen. In the college game, he could have as much impact as his brother Max who won the Hobey Baker Trophy last season.

Plante’s 21 goals and 48 points in 57 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program last season speak to why he is considered a strong prospect.

But his 71 penalty minutes also helps us understand that he’s not just a skill guy. He’s a small pitbull, relentless in his pursuit of the puck. The youngest Plante is dogged on the backcheck. He has no quit in his game. If he had size, he would have been a first-round pick.

“If you (watched Victor’s team) this year and if there was a guy who really flashed out to you, even though he’s my brother,” Max Plante said. “He was that player who kind of stuck out to you.”

1. Fast. Crafty. Skilled. Despite his size, he goes to the net. Can handle the puck in traffic.
2. Always noticeable in tight, important games. The Plante family loves the sport.
3. Red Line Report, a long-time NHL scouting service, listed Victor as the 2026 NHL draft’s No. 1 pest. The publication called him “163 pounds of yappy little mutt who’s always
   nipping at your ankles.”

He is undersized, although that hasn’t held him back thus far. He will have to live in the weight room for a couple of summers to make sure he can measure up to beefier opponents.

Victor Plante(2nd round’26)
With 3 Assists 🍏🍎🍎last night. #LGRWpic.twitter.com/bPWqfwlC6R

Victor’s dad spent four years at Minnesota-Duluth and sons Zam and Max will be in their third college season. The Red Wings wanted Max to leave college after winning the Hobey Baker Trophy but he chose to stay for a chance to play with Victor at the college level.

We would expect Victor to need at least two seasons at Minnesota-Duluth, providing him an opportunity to add more strength. He will likely need games at Grand Rapids as well.

That probably puts him on a schedule to perhaps land in Detroit as a regular later in the 2028-29 season.

The post No. 13: Red Wings Youngest Plante is a Pittbull appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.