'Hockey sense' led to forward Zam Plante being drafted by the Penguins

MONTREAL — Zam Plante’s draft day was far more ebullient than his father’s 33 years ago.

“He had a funny story,” Plante said. “He was mowing the lawn, and he came inside. His stepsister was like, ‘Yeah, you got drafted by some blue and gold team. It ended up being Buffalo.”

In 1989, Derek Plante was an eighth-round pick (No. 161 overall) by the Buffalo Sabres and was attending to landscaping concerns as he took the first steps into his professional career.

He ensured his son’s draft day would be different.

“He asked me, ‘Do you want to go?’ ” Zam Plante said. “I’m like, ‘Sure, yeah. Sweet!’”

Plante, a forward like his father, got drafted by a black and gold team Friday at Bell Centre when the Penguins selected him in the fifth round (150th overall).

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As a son of hockey-mad Minnesota, the selection was fitting given who Plante idolized, aside from his father.

“The guy I like to say I like to model my game around is Jake Guentzel,” Plante said of the Penguins’ star winger who grew up in Woodbury, Mass. “He’s a big part of the Penguins. For sure, I think I could fit in well there.”

Last season, Plante led Hermantown High School in goals with 24 while posting 60 points in only 22 games. In the process, he helped the Hawks claim the Class A state title in the celebrated “State of Hockey.”

He also spent some time in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel during the 2021-22 campaign. In 31 games with the Steel, Plante put up 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists).

While he is hardly a looming presence at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, the Penguins were attracted by his intangibles.

“He plays with a big motor for a smaller player,” said Nick Pryor, the Penguins director of amateur scouting.

“He’s got a lot of hockey sense and a lot of skill. Just a kid that’s going to need time to fill out and add to his frame. When we talk about Zam, it’s about his skill and his hockey sense. And he’s an extremely competitive person for a smaller player.”

The same could have been said about his father. Derek Plante was a smaller player (5-11, 181 pounds) who was a productive 20-goal scorer throughout his eight-year career with Sabres, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. And he accomplished what he did during the 1990s and early 2000s, when NHL teams were largely loading up on jumbo-sized players.

Derek Plante, who previously served as a development coach with the Blackhawks, is an associate coach with Minnesota-Duluth at the NCAA level. A member of Minnesota-Duluth’s athletic hall of fame, Derek Plante was one of the most prolific scorers in the history of that program.

“In the last two years, he’s definitely helped me get better in skating, for sure,” Zam Plante said. “Playing in the NHL and being in hockey his whole life, he’s had a lot of really good knowledge in helping me.”

Not surprisingly, Zam Plante will attend Minnesota-Duluth next season.

“Both of my parents went to Duluth,” Plante said. “I lived about 20 minutes from the rink. So that’s the only place I really thought about.”

Getting drafted is one thing. Actually reaching the NHL is another. Plante fully realizes that.

“I definitely want to get stronger and faster,” Plante said. “That’s big for me, not being an overly big player. If I can get stronger on the puck and get a little bit quicker, it can definitely help me adjust to the NHL game.”

That intuition about the game played a large role in Plante wearing a Penguins jersey on his draft day.

“Being around the rink at a young age like Zam was and seeing what it takes to make it to the NHL level, I don’t think hurts at all,” Pryor said. “He’s been through it with his dad. His dad was a very good player. Zam’s just one of those kids. He’s been around the rink his whole life. He’s got a good feel for the amount of time that it’s going to take to get to that NHL level. We were just really excited about him. I keep coming back to his hockey sense, his skill, his compete.

“He’s going to give himself a good chance because of that.”