University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey sophomores Adam Kleber and Max Plante have been named to the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster announced Monday by USA Hockey.


The duo helped the U.S. to a 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal last January -- the Bulldog program's first gold medalists since 2017. Plante -- who had a primary assist on the second helper in the gold medal game -- recorded a goal and two assists in six games over the tournament, while Kleber had an assist and a +5 rating in six games.


Currently, both Kleber and Plante are in the midst of outstanding seasons with UMD. Plante leads the nation in scoring with 26 points (13g, 13a) in 16 games for an NCAA-best 1.63 points per game average. The native of Hermantown, Minn. ranks second in the NCAA with two shorthanded goals, third with three game-winning goals, and fifth with a +16 plus minus rating.


Kleber is tied for the ninth-highest plus minus rating of +14, and the Chaska, Minn. product has one game-winning goal in his two goal, one assist total to start the season. Both Kleber and Plante are part of the Bulldogs fifth ranked penalty kill (89.5) and sixth ranked power play (28.1).


The U.S. squad will gather in St. Paul, Minn. on Dec. 14 and bus to Duluth, Minn., for a camp that will run Dec. 15 through Dec. 23. Final rosters are expected to be announced on Dec. 24. The 50^th anniversary of the IIHF World Junior Championship is Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul (where the U.S will play its games) and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, Minn.
 

For more information, see the following links, see the Team USA landing page for the event -- HERE