After taking some time away from UMD to assist the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL, Plante returned back to the Bulldogs on July 13, 2020. Plante was a player development coach for the Blackhawks spanning from 2015 until this past season.
Nearly two decades after hanging up his collegiate skates for good and putting the wraps on a remarkable UMD career, Derek Plante returned to his alma mater in June 9, 2010 to take on a new role -- assistant hockey coach. Ten months later, he had himself an NCAA national championship ring.
This past August, Plante served as the head coach for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia and Czech Republic and directed his troops to a third-place finish. He handled an assistant coaching role with Team USA at that international eight-team event the previous season.
Plante, 43 (1/17/71), was a driving offensive force for the Bulldogs for four winters, culminating with a senior year in which he racked up an NCAA-leading 92 points --- still the second highest single-season total in team history -- for a school-record 2.49 points per game average. The Cloquet, Minn., product captained UMD to the 1992-93 WCHA regular season title and a berth in the NCAA Regionals and, in the process, was named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist, a first team All-American, the USA Hockey Male Athlete of the Year, and the WCHA Player of the Year. In addition, he was a All-WCHA first team pick as a senior after receiving second team honors the previous winter. Planted closed out his collegiate playing days with 219 points on 96 goals and 123 assists in 138 outings, which currently puts him in a tie for second place on UMD’s all-time scoring charts while his career points per game average (1.58) trails only Bill Watson (1.94 ppg), Keith “Huffer” Christiansen (1.92 ppg) and Brett Hull (1.60). During his farewell season, he paced the Bulldogs in points for the third winter in a row en route to landing UMD’s Most Valuable Player Award an unprecedented third consecutive time. A WCHA All-Academic Team honoree as a senior and the owner of team records for most career game-winning goals (15) as well as most playoff assists (13) and playoff points (19) in one season (1992-93), Plante was chosen UMD’s Outstanding Senior Male Athlete for 1992-93.
Plante went on to enjoy an eight-year stint in the National Hockey League with Buffalo (1993-99), Chicago (1999-2000), Dallas (1998-99 and 1999-2000) where he won a Stanley Cup, and Philadelphia (2000-01), producing 96 goals and 152 assists for 248 points in 450 regular season games. Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1989 NHL draft (8th round, 161st pick overall), Plante also did time with the International Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves (1999-2000) and Michigan K-Wings (1999-2000) and the American Hockey League’s Philadelphia Phantoms (2000-01). He spent another seven seasons playing professionally in Europe and Japan before retiring following the 2007-08 season. Plante skated with Team U.S.A. at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships on seven occasions: 1992, 1993, 1996, and 2000-04.Inducted into the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame five years ago, Plante earned a B.A.S. degree in community health from UMD in 2009. He and his wife, Kristi (a former softball and basketball standout with the Bulldogs), live in Hermantown with their three sons -- Zam (14), Max (12) and Victor (10).
