The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey coaching staff announced its signees for the 2026-27 recruiting class Monday. The six feature two Hermantown, Minn. natives – forwards Victor Plante and Kade Kohanski, as well as Superior, Wis. product, defenseman Jackson Marthaler.  Another pair of defenseman Carter Murphy (The Woodlands, Texas) and Keith McInnis (Red Deer, Alberta), join goaltender Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, Sweden) to round out the six signees.

For the moment, the 5-foot-10 Plante may be best known as the younger brother of current Bulldog sophomores Zam and Max Plante, the nation's top-two ranked scorers. Plante is currently in his second season with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (the same program his brother Max spent to years in before coming to UMD), and through 20 games so far this season, has compiled 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists. Plante is also the son of two former UMD athletes, Derek and Kristi (Duncan) Plante. Derek played hockey for the Bulldogs from 1989-93 and was a Hobey Baker finalist in 1992-93, while Kristi was both a standout basketball player (1991-1995) and softball player for UMD (1993-95).

Kohanski, a 5-foot-10 forward is currently suiting up with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, where he has 16 points in 18 games on six goals and nine assists. Last season, Kohanski was a teammate of current UMD freshman Daniel Shlaine, and was previously a teammate of three other current Bulldogs in high school. Kohanski was part of the 2022 Hemantown High School squad that won the Minnesota Class A title with Zam and Max Plante, as well as Ty Hanson. A junior that season, Kohanski finished third in scoring for the Hawks with A junior that year, he recorded 22 goals and 40 assists  for 62 points in 31 games that season. Currently he has 15 points (6g, 9a) for the Stars in 18 games. 

Superior native Marthaler is currently with Plante in the USA Hockey NTDP where has skated in 20 games so far this season and logged one assist. Marthaler skated in the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea where he won a gold medal and recorded two assists in four games. The 6-foot-2 Marthaler will become the ninth player from Superior, Wis. to play for the Bulldogs in program history.

McInnis is one of three blueliners in the signing class, and the 6-foot-1 Red Deer, Alberta native currently skates for the Red Deer Rebels "A" of the WHL. With 15 points (5g,10a) through 21 games so far, he is the team's leading scoring defenseman. Prior to the Rebels, McInnis skated for Brooks Bandits in 2024-25 of the BCHL, registering 37 points (13g, 24a) in 51 games. After starting the 2023-34 season with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks (24 games, 2 assists), McInnis move to the Brooks Bandits AJHL team for six games (2g, 3a) before finishing the season with Bandit's BCHL team for 20 games (4g, 7a).

Murphy comes to Duluth from the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL where he currently has 11 points (2g, 11a) over 19 games in his second full season and was named the USHL's Defenseman of the Week back on Sept. 29 after a four point week. Last season, the 5-foot-8 defenseman skated in 54 games for the Phantoms, logging three goals and 10 assists for 13 points and a +13 plus/minus rating. Over the 2024-25 season, he was also called up for international duty, and skated with the U.S U-18 team in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he dished out five assists in five contests. He was also rostered to the 2023 Five Nations Tournament in Chomutov, Czechia where the U.S. finished in second place. Murphy added a goal and an assist in four games in the tournament.

Axelsson – who will be just the third Swedish player in program history – joins Plante as the second member of the class to have a former Bulldog player as a parent. Axelsson's dad Niklas was a goaltender for UMD for two seasons (1993-95). The 6-foot-4 goaltender is playing for the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks, and through 11 games, has posted a 1.98 GAA and a .930 to pair with a 10-1-0 record. Last season, Axelsson spent four games with the Sioux Falls Stampede before joining the Austin Bruins of the NAHL. For the Bears, Axelsson posted a 1.74 GAA and .937 saves percentage with a record of 14-4-1 over 19 games. Axelsson was rostered with Sweden in the USA Hockey World Junior Summer Showcase this past summer.