Buffalo selects Kleber, Detroit takes Plante in NHL draft – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth’s new freshman defenseman Adam Kleber didn’t hear his name called Friday night during the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Instead, the Chaska, Minn. native joins an elite group of Bulldogs defensemen who were selected in the second round, going 42nd overall to the Buffalo Sabers on the second day of the draft of the NHL, Saturday in Vegas.

Kleber, who is 6-foot-5 and 214 pounds, is a right-handed shot who spent the last two seasons in the United States Hockey League with the Lincoln Stars. The 18-year-old emerged as a versatile defenseman last season with six goals and 22 assists in 61 games after generating just eight assists in 64 games in 2022-23.

Speaking to reporters Saturday after being drafted by the Sphere, Kleber said he was excited to one day play for the Sabers and with defensemen like Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram.

Kleber said he’s also excited to play in 2024-25 for a tough, demanding coach like UMD’s Scott Sandelin and a big league like the NCHC.

“I think coach Sandelin is a very good coach, especially in Duluth,” Kleber said. “They breed a lot of defenders. They are very good at developing these guys. I think coach Sandelin has a very tight structure and makes sure the guys don’t fool the defensive team. I think refining that and making sure I play this team really well will help me get to the NHL and hopefully play that role defending the teams best players.

Kleber became the 10th Bulldog to be drafted in the second round, while his future teammate Max Plante of Hermantown was the 11th Bulldog to be drafted in the second round when he was selected 47th overall by the Detroit Red Wings.

Kleber joins an elite trio of defensemen who will win NCAA championships at UMD after being drafted in the second round, alongside Justin Faulk (2010, Carolina), Dylan Samberg (2017, Winnipeg) and Scott Perunovich, winner of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. (2018, St. Louis). Faulk was a member of the Bulldogs’ first national championship run in 2011, while Samberg and Perunovich helped UMD win back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.

Other UMD second-round picks include Adam Gajan (2023, Chicago), Michael Gergen (2005, Pittsburgh), Mason Raymond (2005, Vancouver), Rusty Fitzgerald (1991, Pittsburgh), Dennis Vaske (1986, NY Islanders ) and Murray Keogan (1970, St. Louis).

Five Bulldogs have been selected in the first round, including Isaac Howard (2022, Tampa Bay), Riley Tufte (2016, Dallas), Dylan Olsen (2009, Chicago Blackhawks), Matt Niskanen (2005, Dallas) and Larry Wright (1971, Philadelphia Flyers). Wright is the highest-scoring Bulldog ever selected, having been selected eighth overall in 1971 by the Flyers.

Kleber is one of 11 freshmen – and 12 newcomers – that Scott Sandelin will bring to campus in the fall of 2024-25 as the Bulldogs revamp the roster after missing the NCAA tournament over the consecutive seasons.

Kleber was ranked 34th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, with most prognosticators viewing him as a late first-round or early second-round prospect.

Brad Schlossman / Grand Forks Herald

Max Plante became the sixth Hermantown native since Samberg in 2017 to be selected in the NHL draft on Saturday, going five picks after Kleber in the second round to the Detroit Red Wings.

Max Plante, 18, at 47th overall, was picked 103 times higher than his older brother, Zam, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round at 150th overall in 2022 and 114 times higher than when his father, Derek, was drafted by the Buffalo Sabers in the eighth round at 161st overall in 1989.

Max Plante, a 5-foot-11, 176-pound left-handed forward, will be a freshman at UMD in the fall with his brother, Zam. They will be roommates at UMD. While Zam played in the USHL, Max spent the last two seasons playing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan.

“I’m really excited to go play with Zam,” Max Plante told reporters in Las Vegas on Saturday after being drafted by the Red Wings. “Two years of not playing with each other, I think we probably missed playing with each other, playing hockey together. I hope we can play together this year in Duluth. It’s really special to be able to play together with the Bulldogs.

Playing with his brother as a sophomore at Hermantown High School in 2021-22, Max Plante scored 18 goals and 54 assists en route to a Minnesota Class A state championship. Over the past two seasons with the NTDP, he has totaled 26 goals and 81 assists in 105 games, including 15 goals and 46 assists in 2023-24 with the under-18 team.

Max Plante said he will leave the NTDP a much stronger and faster player than when he arrived.

“Going into the program, I was a short, skinny guy,” he said. “I’ve been working for the last two years. I still have a lot of room to improve my game and get stronger, but I thought I got faster and played with more pace.”

Youngest Plante brother Victor is headed to the NTDP starting in 2024-25 and will be eligible for the NHL Draft in the summer of 2026. Victor will be eligible to commit to college on Aug. 1, 2024.

The entire Plante family was in Vegas this week for the draft, as they were in 2022 in Montreal when Zam was drafted. Derek Plante, a former captain and assistant coach at UMD, is currently an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It’s really special. Almost all of my family is here,” said Max Plante, whose mother Kristi (Duncan) Plante was a basketball and softball standout at UMD. “My mom’s whole family, my cousins, my grandparents, it was really special that they could come to Vegas and enjoy this moment with me. »

• Will Francis — Anaheim Ducks, 2019, fifth round, 163rd overall
• Jack Smith — Montreal Canadiens, 2020, 4th, No. 102
• Cole Spicer — Boston Bruins, 2022, 4th, No. 117
• Zam Plant — Pittsburgh Penguins, 2022, 5th, No. 150
• Dominique James — Chicago Blackhawks, 2022, 6th, No. 173
• Adam Gajan — Chicago Blackhawks, 2023, 2nd, No. 35
• Jayson Shaugabay — Tampa Bay Lightning, 2023, 4th, No. 115
• Matthew Perkins — Vancouver Canucks, 2023, 4th, No. 119
• Aaron Pionk — Minnesota Wild, 2023, 5th, No. 149
• Adam Kleber — Buffalo Sabres, 2024, 2nd, No. 42
• Max Plant — Detroit Red Wings, 2024, 2nd, No. 47

Grand Forks Herald college hockey reporter Brad Schlossman contributed to this report on the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas.

This story was updated at 3:04 p.m. on June 29, 2024, with the correct number of Bulldogs selected all-time in the second round of the NHL Draft after Saturday’s conclusion, as well as a list of the Bulldogs who are NHL Draft picks on the 2023-24 roster. It was originally published at 11 a.m. on June 29, 2024, and updated throughout the draft.