While Gavin McKenna keeps drawing interest to the college hockey ranks, he hasn't taken over in the way some expected. McKenna has been elite, with 18 points and four goals in 16 contests, proving he can more than handle the college game. But Max Plante looks like the NCAA's best player more than anyone else.
Plante recently turned heads when he recorded a natural hat trick against Colorado College, and has 26 points and 13 goals in 16 contests so far. That gives him 1.625 points per game, putting him well on pace to set a new career-high in points at the collegiate level.
If you remember correctly, he ended the 2024-25 season wth 28 points and nine goals in 23 contests. So, if he stays on the same trajectory this year, Plante will have between 37 and 38 points after 23 games.
And given the recent success the Red Wings have been seeing with their younger players with the big club, and players like Plante, who have yet to sign and officially join the organization, it should lead them to wonder what this team will look like when he, at some point, competes for a spot in Hockeytown.
Gavin McKenna was supposed to take over the NCAA, but Max Plante had other ideas
If you were to rank the top players in college hockey for the Hobey Baker Award, Max Plante would top Gavin McKenna. His numbers have been nothing short of legendary, and what he's doing with Minnesota-Duluth right now is everything some thought we would see from McKenna.
Plante's numbers could also mirror what Macklin Celebrini did in 2023-24, when he finished the year with 64 points and 32 goals in 38 contests. And if that's the case, there is no doubt he would end up a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
So, while McKenna may end up going first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, while Plante went in the second round to the Red Wings in 2024, there is little doubt about who may be the more NHL-ready prospect heading into 2026-27, unless McKenna starts averaging nearly two points per game.
Red Wings prospects may take over the race for the Hobey Baker Award
Max Plante isn't the only Red Wings prospect in contention for the Hobey Baker Award. Goaltender Trey Augustine keeps putting on a clinic at Michigan State. So far, he has 11 starts, a 1.72 GAA, a 0.935 save percentage, and three shutouts, all but solidifying his spot in the race to be the best player in college hockey.
Since joining the college ranks in 2023-24, Augustine has been one of the game's best netminders, consistently averaging at least a 0.915 save percentage and never averaging over 3.00 goals allowed. He's gone from good to elite to borderline legendary so far in his three-year career with the Spartans, and those numbers should translate to the professional ranks when he's competing for a spot with the Red Wings and/or Grand Rapids Griffins either in 2026-27 or 2027-28.
So, Red Wings fans, while the big club looks like one of the better teams in the NHL, just know that there's plenty of talent lurking in the college ranks. Talent that just might finish one-two for the Hobey Baker Award if they keep this up.