Alex Plante
Played forEdmonton Oilers
Dornbirner EC
Lørenskog IK
Anyang Halla
PositionDefence
ShootsRight
Height6 ft
Height in4
Weight lb230
Birth dateMay 9, 1989 (age 37)
Birth placeBrandon, Manitoba, Canada
Ntl teamKOR
Draft (2007)15th overall
Draft teamEdmonton Oilers
Career start2009
Career end2020

Alexandre Plante (born May 9, 1989) is a Canadian-South Korean former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected by the Edmonton Oilers 15th overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut in 2009–10. He is the son of former professional defenceman Cam Plante, while his brother, Tyler, is a goaltending coach for the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Playing career

Plante played junior hockey for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Hitmen selected him with their second-round pick, 21st overall, in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft.[1] He established himself as a regular on Calgary's blue line in 2005–06, playing in 54 games. He appeared in 58 more in 2006–07 and attracted greater attention from NHL scouts in the 2007 playoffs, scoring 11 points in 13 games. As a result, the Edmonton Oilers selected him 15th overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft, a higher position than he was initially expected to go.[2]

Several injuries limited Plante to 36 games in 2007–08 and he failed to report to Calgary's training camp prior to the 2008–09 WHL season, claiming that the team had treated him poorly the previous year.[3] While he initially demanded a trade out of Calgary,[4] Plante ultimately recanted and returned to the Hitmen early in the season.[5] He rebounded from his "nightmare season" in 2007–08 to rank among the leaders of the Hitmen defence with 45 points in the regular season and another 15 in the playoffs before Calgary was upset in the league championship series by the Kelowna Rockets.[6]

The Oilers signed Plante to a three-year contract following the season.[7] He began his professional career in 2009–10 with Edmonton's top minor league affiliate, the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL).[8] Several injuries on Edmonton's defence led the Oilers to recall Plante, and he made his NHL debut on February 1, 2010, against the Carolina Hurricanes and recorded an assist.[9] He was returned to Springfield as injured players returned to the Oilers' lineup.[10]

On July 18, 2013, Plante was signed as a free agent to his first European contract on a one-year deal with Dornbirner EC of the Austrian Hockey League.[11] He joined Anyang Halla of the Asia League Ice Hockey in 2015, and gained South Korean citizenship in 2017.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2004–05Calgary HitmenWHL800061100017
2005–06Calgary HitmenWHL5413472130006
2006–07Calgary HitmenWHL58830388113561114
2007–08Calgary HitmenWHL36112281504410
2008–09Calgary HitmenWHL688374515718691541
2009–10Springfield FalconsAHL49279122—————
2009–10Edmonton OilersNHL40112—————
2010–11Oklahoma City BaronsAHL7321517138500012
2010–11Edmonton OilersNHL300011—————
2011–12Oklahoma City BaronsAHL4111314841401126
2011–12Edmonton OilersNHL30112—————
2012–13Oklahoma City BaronsAHL4912311420002
2013–14Dornbirner ECEBEL543101381601111
2014–15Lørenskog IKNOR43691518950004
2015–16Anyang HallaALH48618245280110
2016–17Anyang HallaALH481212245660112
2017–18Anyang HallaALH242684981454
2018–19Anyang HallaALH331456240114
2019–20Anyang HallaALH36514195620110
AHL totals212637434582101140
NHL totals1002215—————
ALH totals1892654802752818910

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2006Canada WestU177th50226
2017South KoreaWC D1A18th52134
2018South KoreaOG12th40002
2018South KoreaWC16th700010
2019South KoreaWC D1A19th50224
Senior totals2123520

References

  1. ^ Flett, Cory & Watts, Jessie (eds.). 2009–10 WHL Guide. Western Hockey League. p. 44.
  2. ^ Unger, Scott (2007-06-23). "Plante ripe for pickin'". Winnipeg Sun. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  3. ^ Matheson, Jim (2008-08-31). "Plante fails to report to camp". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  4. ^ "Plante fed up with Hitmen". Edmonton Journal. 2008-09-04. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  5. ^ Fisher, Scott (2008-10-01). "Alex makes D most of it". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  6. ^ Tychkowski, Robert (2009-05-12). "Bittersweet year for prospect Plante". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  7. ^ "Oilers sign first round pick Alex Plante". The Sports Network. 2009-05-28. Archived February 13, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  8. ^ Sypek, Fran (2009-11-19). "Plante hoping farm work bears fruit in NHL". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2010-03-13.[dead link]
  9. ^ Van Diest, Derek (2010-02-02). "Plante shines in debut". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  10. ^ Van Diest, Derek (2010-02-08). "Plante back with Falcons". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  11. ^ "Top class defender for Dornbirn" (in German). Dornbirner EC. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
  12. ^ Merk, Martin (2017-04-14). "Anyang defends title". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2017-04-15.