BUFFALO – Call it a perk of carrying on the family tradition. When NHL Draft prospect Victor Plante went on a recruiting visit to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where his brothers, Max and Zam, star for the Bulldogs, he was promised a shift alongside two of college hockey’s most dynamic scorers.
Victor, 18, is the youngest of the bunch, meaning he has never been teammates with his brothers.
To play even 30 seconds on a line with them would be an unforgettable experience.
“They’re pretty good, so it’d be a huge honor to be on a line with them,” Victor said June 6 following fitness testing at NHL Scouting Combine in LECOM Harborcenter. “That’d be awesome for me, my family, especially myself being from Duluth, whole family’s from Duluth.”
The whole Plante family also attends Minnesota-Duluth. Victor’s father, Derek, a three-time 20-goal scorer for the Sabres, met his wife, Kristy, at the school in the early 1990s. Max and Zam are both entering their junior season.
Victor said attending the school “was an easy decision.” He did, however, visit other colleges. Derek told the Times Herald his older sons never bothered to look anywhere else.
“Aunts and uncles have gone there, mom, dad,” Victor said. “Hometown team, dad coached there, played there. It was a huge honor to be able to get recruited by them and have the opportunity to go play for them. It’s been a lifelong dream.”
Another lifelong dream, being drafted by an NHL team, will likely be realized this weekend in Buffalo.
The youngest Plante, a winger, ranked 42nd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final listing of draft prospects.
“I describe myself as a two-way player, more on the offensive side,” he said. “But (I) like to score some goals here and there and lock it down in the D-zone.”
Plante spent last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-18 squad, scoring 21 goals and 47 points in 57 games.
Having a father who played and coached in the NHL and NCAA – Derek now works as a pro scout for the Ottawa Senators – and brothers who just experienced a similar path has boosted his hockey journey.
The Detroit Red Wings drafted Max 27th overall in 2024. The Pittsburgh Penguins selected Zam 150th in 2022.
Max won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player last season. He and Zam combined to score a whopping 45 goals and 103 points in just 40 games.
Victor knows he should listen to any advice they give him. He said they told him to “just have fun” with the draft process.
“Not everyone gets to be in the shoes you have, so just make the most of it,” he said.
Buffalo will likely always have a special place in Victor’s heart.
During one of his visits here for a tournament a few years ago, Derek showed his son around town.
“They hear about it and talk about it that I played in Buffalo, but maybe it just resonates a little better if they see it, ‘Oh, it’s real,’” Derek said.
They had lunch at Chef’s, Derek’s old pregame lunch spot, and toured Harborcenter and the locker room at KeyBank Center.
“It was funny because he’s like, ‘Oh, that’s where that happened, that’s where that happened!’” Victor said. “He’s bringing back old memories, so it was pretty cool.”
One of those special memories, Derek’s overtime goal that pushed the Sabres past Ottawa in 1997, holds a special place in Sabres lore. It remains the only Game 7 playoff win in franchise history.
