Derek Plante
Encyclopedia
Derek John Plante is an American ice hockey
coach and former professional ice hockey player. Plante played eight seasons in the National Hockey League
(NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres
, Dallas Stars
, Chicago Blackhawks
and Philadelphia Flyers
. He was a member of the 1999 Stanley Cup
champion Dallas Stars. He is currently an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
in 1989, Plante attended the University of Minnesota Duluth
and by his senior year was an All-Star leading the WCHA
in goals, assists, and total scoring. Plante skipped minor league hockey and jumped right to the NHL
in 1994, replacing an injured Pat LaFontaine
and scoring 21 goals. By turning pro so quickly, Plante missed out on an opportunity to represent the United States in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Plante managed only 3 goals and 19 assists, but rebounded nicely in 1995–96 on a rebuilding, but hard-working Sabres squad, netting 23 goals and adding 30 assists. In 1997, Plante became the Sabres' top scoring center
. he netted a career high 27 goals and led the surprising Sabres squad to a Northeast Division championship and playoff berth. Plante scored the game winning, series-clinching game 7 overtime goal against the upstart Ottawa Senators
. Plante knocked down an opponent pass at center, quickly positioned himself, and fired a slapshot
that managed to escape the glove of netminder Ron Tugnutt
and trickle into the goal. Mobbed by his ecstatic teammates, Plante suffered a cut lip in the ensuing celebration. Plante played well in the next series vs. Eric Lindros
and the Philadelphia Flyers
, but the overmatched team fell in 5.
Plante's numbers slipped in 1997–98, scoring only 13 goals and 34 points, however the Sabres advanced deeper into the playoffs than many expected, losing to the Washington Capitals
in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Halfway through the 1999 season Plante was traded to the Dallas Stars
. The Stars went all the way to the Stanley Cup
finals and met Plante's old team, the Sabres. Plante had played in the first two series of the playoffs, scoring a critical goal in the second round, but was a healthy scratch for every game of the finals, which the Stars won 4 games to 2. Even though he didn't play in the finals, Plante got in on the time-honored tradition of taking personal stewardship of the Cup, which he spent in his home town of Cloquet, Minnesota
. The Dallas Stars
had Plante's name engraved on the Stanley Cup
even though he did not play in the required number of games.
The following year Plante found himself in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. For the first time in his career, Plante played on a minor league team, the Chicago Wolves
.
In 2000–01 Plante starred for the AHL
Philadelphia Phantoms
, and by the end of the year was called up to join the Philadelphia Flyers
. The Flyers kept Derek on their playoff roster to face the Sabres. Plante scored a goal against his former teammate Dominik Hašek
earlier in the season, but the Sabres prevailed, and Plante hasn't been back in the NHL since.
Plante later went on to play in European leagues, most notably with the Munich Barons
. From 2005 to 2007, he played in the Asian Hockey League
as a member of the Nippon Paper Cranes
, winning the championship in 2007. During 2007–2008, he played for the SC Langenthal.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
coach and former professional ice hockey player. Plante played eight seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
, Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
, Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
and Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. He was a member of the 1999 Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
champion Dallas Stars. He is currently an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Playing career
Drafted out of high school by the Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
in 1989, Plante attended the University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth is a regional branch of the University of Minnesota system located in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. As Duluth's public research university, UMD offers 13 bachelor's degrees in 74 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a two-year program at the School of...
and by his senior year was an All-Star leading the WCHA
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates over a wide area of the Midwestern and Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference....
in goals, assists, and total scoring. Plante skipped minor league hockey and jumped right to the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
in 1994, replacing an injured Pat LaFontaine
Pat LaFontaine
Patrick Michael LaFontaine is an American former ice hockey center in the National Hockey League who spent his entire career playing for the league's New York-based teams; LaFontaine skated for the New York Islanders from 1983 until 1991, the Buffalo Sabres from 1991 until 1997, and the New York...
and scoring 21 goals. By turning pro so quickly, Plante missed out on an opportunity to represent the United States in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Plante managed only 3 goals and 19 assists, but rebounded nicely in 1995–96 on a rebuilding, but hard-working Sabres squad, netting 23 goals and adding 30 assists. In 1997, Plante became the Sabres' top scoring center
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
. he netted a career high 27 goals and led the surprising Sabres squad to a Northeast Division championship and playoff berth. Plante scored the game winning, series-clinching game 7 overtime goal against the upstart Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Plante knocked down an opponent pass at center, quickly positioned himself, and fired a slapshot
Slapshot
A slapshot in ice hockey is the hardest shot. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion:# The player winds up his hockey stick by raising it behind his body, sometimes raising the blade to shoulder height or higher.# Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the...
that managed to escape the glove of netminder Ron Tugnutt
Ron Tugnutt
Ronald Frederick Bradley Tugnutt is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the NHL with several teams from 1987–2004 and is currently an assistant coach with the OHL's Peterborough Petes.-Early years:Tugnutt was born in Scarborough, Ontario and played three seasons...
and trickle into the goal. Mobbed by his ecstatic teammates, Plante suffered a cut lip in the ensuing celebration. Plante played well in the next series vs. Eric Lindros
Eric Lindros
Eric Bryan Lindros is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Lindros played junior hockey in the OHL for the Oshawa Generals prior to being selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques...
and the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, but the overmatched team fell in 5.
Plante's numbers slipped in 1997–98, scoring only 13 goals and 34 points, however the Sabres advanced deeper into the playoffs than many expected, losing to the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Halfway through the 1999 season Plante was traded to the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
. The Stars went all the way to the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
finals and met Plante's old team, the Sabres. Plante had played in the first two series of the playoffs, scoring a critical goal in the second round, but was a healthy scratch for every game of the finals, which the Stars won 4 games to 2. Even though he didn't play in the finals, Plante got in on the time-honored tradition of taking personal stewardship of the Cup, which he spent in his home town of Cloquet, Minnesota
Cloquet, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,201 people, 4,636 households, and 2,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 317.9 people per square mile . There were 4,805 housing units at an average density of 136.4 per square mile...
. The Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
had Plante's name engraved on the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
even though he did not play in the required number of games.
The following year Plante found himself in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. For the first time in his career, Plante played on a minor league team, the Chicago Wolves
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...
.
In 2000–01 Plante starred for the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
Philadelphia Phantoms
Philadelphia Phantoms
The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule conflicts or some Calder Cup playoff games, games were...
, and by the end of the year was called up to join the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. The Flyers kept Derek on their playoff roster to face the Sabres. Plante scored a goal against his former teammate Dominik Hašek
Dominik Hašek
Dominik Hašek is a Czech ice hockey goaltender who is currently with HC Spartak Moscow of the KHL.In his 16-season National Hockey League career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and the Ottawa Senators. During his years in Buffalo, he became one of the...
earlier in the season, but the Sabres prevailed, and Plante hasn't been back in the NHL since.
Plante later went on to play in European leagues, most notably with the Munich Barons
Munich Barons
The Munich Barons were a professional ice hockey team between 1999 and 2002 run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group in the German Ice Hockey League ...
. From 2005 to 2007, he played in the Asian Hockey League
Asia League Ice Hockey
Asia League Ice Hockey is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with seven teams from Japan, China, and South Korea. The league is headquartered in Japan...
as a member of the Nippon Paper Cranes
Nippon Paper Cranes
The are an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan.The club were founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1994 when Jūjō Paper and Sanyō Kokusaku Pulp merged to form Nippon Paper.They won the inaugural...
, winning the championship in 2007. During 2007–2008, he played for the SC Langenthal.