Alex Plante

Alexandre Plante (born May 9, 1989) is a Canadian-South Korean professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for Anyang Halla of the Asia League Ice Hockey (AL). 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.

Alex Plante
Plante at the Channel One Cup in 2017
Born (1989-05-09) May 9, 1989
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 230 lb (104 kg; 16 st 6 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
AL team
Former teams		 Anyang Halla
Edmonton Oilers
Dornbirner EC
Lørenskog IK
National team  South Korea
NHL Draft 15th overall, 2007
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2009–present

Playing career
Plante in a Calgary Hitmen uniform in 2008

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 season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Calgary Hitmen WHL 8 0 0 0 6 11 0 0 0 17
2005–06 Calgary Hitmen WHL 54 1 3 4 72 13 0 0 0 6
2006–07 Calgary Hitmen WHL 58 8 30 38 81 13 5 6 11 14
2007–08 Calgary Hitmen WHL 36 1 1 2 28 15 0 4 4 10
2008–09 Calgary Hitmen WHL 68 8 37 45 157 18 6 9 15 41
2009–10 Springfield Falcons AHL 49 2 7 9 122 — — — — —
2009–10 Edmonton Oilers NHL 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 73 2 15 17 138 5 0 0 0 12
2010–11 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 0 0 0 11 — — — — —
2011–12 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 41 1 13 14 84 14 0 1 1 26
2011–12 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2012–13 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 49 1 2 3 114 2 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Dornbirner EC EBEL 54 3 10 13 81 6 0 1 1 11
2014–15 Lørenskog IK NOR 43 6 9 15 189 5 0 0 0 4
2015–16 Anyang Halla ALH 48 6 18 24 52 8 0 1 1 0
2016–17 Anyang Halla ALH 48 12 12 24 56 6 0 1 1 2
2017–18 Anyang Halla ALH 24 2 6 8 49 8 1 4 5 4
2018–19 Anyang Halla ALH 33 1 4 5 62 4 0 1 1 4
2019–20 Anyang Halla ALH 36 5 14 19 56 2 0 1 1 0
AHL totals 212 6 37 43 458 21 0 1 1 40
NHL totals 10 0 2 2 15 — — — — —
ALH totals 189 26 54 80 275 28 1 8 9 10

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Canada West U17 7th 5 0 2 2 6
2017 South Korea WC D1A 18th 5 2 1 3 4
2018 South Korea OG 12th 4 0 0 0 2
2018 South Korea WC 16th 7 0 0 0 10
2019 South Korea WC D1A 19th 5 0 2 2 4
Senior totals 21 2 3 5 20

References
  1. Flett, Cory; Watts, Jessie (eds.). 2009–10 WHL Guide. Western Hockey League. p. 44.
  2. Unger, Scott (June 23, 2007). "Plante ripe for pickin'". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  3. Matheson, Jim (August 31, 2008). "Plante fails to report to camp". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  4. "Plante fed up with Hitmen". Edmonton Journal. September 4, 2008. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  5. Fisher, Scott (October 1, 2008). "Alex makes D most of it". Calgary Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  6. Tychkowski, Robert (May 12, 2009). "Bittersweet year for prospect Plante". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  7. "Oilers sign first round pick Alex Plante". The Sports Network. May 28, 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  8. Sypek, Fran (November 19, 2009). "Plante hoping farm work bears fruit in NHL". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  9. Van Diest, Derek (February 2, 2010). "Plante shines in debut". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  10. Van Diest, Derek (February 8, 2010). "Plante back with Falcons". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  11. "Top class defender for Dornbirn" (in German). Dornbirner EC. July 18, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  12. Merk, Martin (April 14, 2017). "Anyang defends title". IIHF.com. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Sam Gagner		 Edmonton Oilers first round pick
2007		 Succeeded by
Riley Nash
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