DULUTH, Minn. - Derek Plante remembers the moment well. UMD earned a win over rival Minnesota during the 2010-11 season and was celebrating in the locker room afterward, when Plante’s two boys, Max and Zam, came sprinting through the doors.
 
The two were decked out in UMD gear and Derek, who was an assistant coach at the time, joked his kids were probably the most excited people in the building – although they were just 4 and 6-years-old at the time.
 
So much so that their excitement got the best of them, as both Max and Zam stepped on the Bulldog logo on the locker room floor – a cardinal sin in the hockey world.
 
“They were pretty fired up that night and when they came running in the whole team was yelling ‘Hey, you can’t step on the logo!’ But they were little guys at the time and everyone got a good laugh out of it,” Derek said. “They’ve always had that excitement for UMD hockey though and they grew up around the program, and I think that passion and all those memories are part of what makes where they’re at today so special.”

 

Head Coach Scott Sandelin remembers seeing the two roaming around AMSOIL Arena too, whether they were looking for pucks in the stands during practice or running around the weight room.
 
He even felt their presence when they were gone, especially as he’d try to enter Derek’s office, only to find the door jammed by broken sticks – which were cut down and turned into shinny hockey sticks for the boys.
 
Fast forward to today and Max and Zam are back inside AMSOIL, except this time as Bulldogs themselves. They’re living together, playing side-by-side as linemates, and aiming to bring UMD back to the same winning program they grew up accustomed to.
 
UMD won three national championships (2011, 2018, 2019) in a nine-year stretch and Derek spent six years coaching (2009-15) at his alma mater, including that 2011 title. He donned the Maroon and Gold as a player from 1989-93. His wife, Kristi, was also a decorated UMD athlete, and although Derek is now an assistant for the Chicago Blackhawks, the family still calls Hermantown home.
 
They’re Bulldogs through and through.
 
“We’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of our alumni’s kids in our programs over the years and it’s always special, and Zam and Max are no different,” Sandelin said. “They basically grew up living at the rink when Derek was on our staff and they grew up nothing but Bulldogs.
 
“Now we didn’t take that for granted and we wanted to do it the right way throughout the recruiting process, but it’s very refreshing to have players like them here. Because they’re very driven and they want to be at their best. They want to have success for the program they grew up watching and the program means so much to them, and it’s such a good hockey family. We’re really grateful to have them in our program.”
 
On top of their passion for the program, both kids bring a winning pedigree to Duluth.

 

They grew up winning tournaments across the youth levels and won a Class A title together for Hermantown in 2022, doing so on the same Xcel Energy Center ice that they celebrated UMD’s 2011 title.
 
Zam also made back-to-back Clark Cup appearances with the USHL’s Fargo Force, winning it last spring, while Max helped the U.S. win a silver medal at the U-18 World Championship. Zam (Pittsburgh, 2022) and Max (Detroit, 2024) are both NHL draft picks too with promising careers ahead of them.
 
Now the hope is that success will follow them back to Duluth.
 
“We know what the standard should be here and winning is all we’ve really known, and we want to bring that mentality every day,” said Zam, who is roughly 18 months older than Max. “It’s obviously a dream come true to be here and be here with my brother, and the Bulldogs are all we’ve really known since we were little kids. Whether that was being at Bulldog games, watching my dad or being around the team and watching them win. But now we’re here ourselves, and now it’s our turn.”
 
Max echoed that sentiment.
 
“I couldn’t picture myself in another uniform,” the younger Plante said. “It was always UMD from the start and even though it hasn’t happened yet, we want to win here. 
 
“We grew up going to the state tournament every year and watching UMD win as kids, and we grew up around it here with our dad. They were winning all the time and we didn’t know any other way, and I think our team now is starting to develop some of those same habits. So hopefully we can keep working and get back to that point.”
 
Make no mistake, they have different personalities and the typical brother disagreements.
 
Zam – a self-described outdoorsman – joked that they can’t stand each other some days and can’t get away, as they’re living together with fellow UMD freshmen Jayson Shaugabay and Callum Arnott. But they’re glad to be experiencing the college lifestyle together and seeing each other’s success.
 
It’s not UMD’s first time having brothers either, as the Cates' (Jackson and Noah) and Andersons (Joey and Mikey) have done so in the past eight years alone – with both sets winning national titles.
 
Like the UMD brothers before them, there is one main trait Max and Zam specifically share… the desire to win.
 
“One of the biggest reasons we wanted them in our program is they’re winners,” Sandelin said. “Not only are they good hockey players and competitive kids, and they can drive the play offensively. But they have that drive to be successful in whatever they do too and they want to win, and I think that can be infectious.
 
“You can see it in the way they practice, the way they play, their attitude, the way they represent the program – it’s all there. You can tell they love the big moments already and they always want to get better, and it’s important to have that. Hopefully that mindset rubs off on everyone over the next few years and it’s going to be pretty cool to see.”
 

While this season hasn’t started how either hoped, they’ve developed chemistry and taken strides, both individually and as a team. UMD’s freshman class, which features 11 players, is regarded as one of the nation’s best.
 
The Plantes debuted together on Oct. 5, yet Max missed the next 10 games with an injury. Max also missed games earlier this month as he helped the U.S. win gold at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
 
Max already has nine points (4-5-9) through seven games this season while Zam has 13 points (4-9-13) through 20, and the Bulldogs are 8-11-1. However, they’re coming off a sweep of in-state rival St. Cloud State and will look to keep that momentum rolling down the stretch, and into the future.
 
“I think our freshmen class has done a good job of battling every day and we’re starting to see the results in games, and we all know what our goal here is as a team,” Zam said. “This is a really special place to my family, and me and my brothers, and we came here because we wanted to win. So hopefully we can, because we’ve been dreaming of it since we were little kids.”
 
As Zam alluded to, the family’s UMD ties potentially stretch beyond the next few seasons too, as their younger brother, Victor, also has plans of wearing the Bulldogs sweater.
 
Victor is currently with the U.S. National Team Development Program – where Max spent the past two seasons – and although the three have never played together, it’s just another reason the next few years are so exciting. Only time will tell if that scenario ever comes to fruition.

 

No matter what happens though, the family has enjoyed seeing Max and Zam back under one roof and there’s plenty of pride that comes with that Bulldog logo.
 
“I remember watching them skate together wearing their UMD stuff at the Hermantown rink this summer, and then the first game they played together (at UMD) was awesome,” Derek said. “It’s something we’d all thought about for a long time and had looked forward to, but to see it actually happen gives you goosebumps.
 
“UMD has been great to our family over the years and it’ll always be home, and to see both of them playing there now, and then Victor on the way – I don’t know how to put it into words. It’s pretty special and something we don’t take for granted.”
 
Max and Zam will lead the Bulldogs on the road this weekend for a series at No. 18 Colorado College. Friday’s game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.