Alexandre Plante (born May 9, 1989) is a Canadian-South Korean former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

15th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and made his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(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 The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...

Playing career

Plante played

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

for the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), hosting their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "Hitman" Hart, a prof ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL). The Hitmen selected him with their second-round pick, 21st overall, in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft. 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

selected him 15th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, a higher position than he was initially expected to go. 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 The 2008–09 WHL season was the 43rd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 18, 2008, and ended on March 15, 2009. The 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge series, featuring ''Team WHL'' versus the ''Russi ...

, claiming that the team had treated him poorly the previous year. While he initially demanded a trade out of Calgary, Plante ultimately recanted and returned to the Hitmen early in the season. 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 The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

. The Oilers signed Plante to a three-year contract following the season. He began his professional career in 2009–10 with Edmonton's top minor league affiliate, the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL). 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 The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

and recorded an assist. He was returned to Springfield as injured players returned to the Oilers' lineup. 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. He joined

Anyang Halla HL Anyang () is a professional ice hockey team based in Anyang (South Korea), Anyang in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is one of the founding and current members of the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH). Formed in 1994, it is the oldest profess ...

of the

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey (; ) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and formerly China and Russia. The league is headquartered in Japan. At the end of ...

in 2015, and gained South Korean citizenship in 2017.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plante, Alex 1989 births Living people Calgary Hitmen players Canadian emigrants to South Korea Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in South Korea Canadian ice hockey defencemen Dornbirn Bulldogs players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players HL Anyang players Ice hockey people from Brandon, Manitoba Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Lørenskog IK players Naturalized citizens of South Korea NHL first-round draft picks Oklahoma City Barons players Olympic ice hockey players for South Korea South Korean ice hockey defencemen Springfield Falcons players