Derek Plante Returns to Minnesota Duluth Coaching Staff

Minnesota Duluth announced on Monday that a familiar face would be replacing outgoing assistant coach Jason Herter behind the bench in Duluth next season. Derek Plante, who served as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs from 2009 until 2015, will fill the open coaching spot.

Plante was a star player for the Bulldogs in the early ‘90s before embarking on 450-game NHL career. After retiring from hockey, Plante took a job as an assistant coach at his alma mater and helped assemble the team that would go on to win the school’s first national championship in 2011. After stepping away from the Bulldogs in 2015, he spent the past five seasons working in the Chicago Blackhawks organization as a development coach.

In addition to his past work with UMD, Plante’s familiarity with future age groups may have some built-in recruiting advantages. His son Zam was a first round draft pick of the Chicago Steel in this year’s USHL Futures Draft.

It should make for a seamless transition for a Minnesota Duluth program that has had nearly-unprecedented success in the postseason in recent years.