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

DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth 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, Minnesota, native joins an elite group of Bulldogs defensemen who were selected in the second round, 42nd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres on Day 2 of the NHL Draft Saturday in Vegas.

Kleber, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 214 pounds, is a right-hander who spent the last two seasons in the United States Hockey League with the Lincoln Stars. The 18-year-old proved to be a versatile defender 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 to 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 in 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 train 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 players don’t cheat defensively. I think refining that and making sure I play well on that side will help me get to the NHL and hopefully have that role as a defender of the best players on the team. »

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

Kleber joins an elite trio of defensemen who would later win NCAA championships at UMD after being drafted in the second round, including Justin Faulk (2010, Carolina), Dylan Samberg (2017, Winnipeg) and Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Scott Perunovich (2018, St. Louis). Faulk was a member of the Bulldogs’ first national championship in 2011 while Samberg and Perunovich helped lead UMD to 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 for 2024-25 as the Bulldogs retool their roster after missing the NCAA Tournament for two straight 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, spending 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 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. Hopefully 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 leaves 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 progress in my game and get stronger, but I thought I got faster and played with more pace.”

The youngest of the Plante brothers, Victor, will head to the NTDP starting in 2024-25 and will be eligible for the NHL draft in the summer of 2026. Victor is eligible to commit to a college on August 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 UMD captain and assistant coach, is currently an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It’s really special. Almost all my family is here,” said Max Plante, whose mother Kristi (Duncan) Plante was a basketball and softball standout at UMD. “My mom’s whole side, 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, n°102
• Cole Spicer — Boston Bruins, 2022, 4th, No. 117
• Zam Plant — Pittsburgh Penguins, 2022, 5th, #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 following Saturday’s conclusion, as well as a list of 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.