Alex Plante

[rigger]

Im wondering what the consensus is on the towering hulk from the calgary hitmen.

At 6'5" and 220 lbs. he may be the biggest of the 'higher end' defensive prospects this year.

Where do you feel he will go.

From my viewings and from what I hear he has a big shot and can use it effectively, I've also noticed he isn't the most fleet of foot and can be a little clumsy, being 6'5" at that age I would guess most are not as controlled as a 5'10" player. He did play with the top rated defensive prospect in the draft in Alzner and that may have artificially inflated his stats.

This past season he posted 58 gp, 8g, 30a for 38 pts and a +18 while sitting in the box for 81 minutes.

Is he an early second rounder? Is Andy Sutton a good comparable?

Just wondering where you guys in rate him going into the draft.

Personally I want the oilers to pick him with the #36 pick unless an higher rated prospect slides to this position.

Click to read more...

 

[JR#9*]

i've been hearing he's gonna go late first round to early second round. But thats just what i've heard. I don't really no much about him.

 

[rigger]

i've been hearing he's gonna go late first round to early second round. But thats just what i've heard. I don't really no much about him.

Thanks, I have heard similar. I hope he slides to 36th but with his size and shot. He may be a 3-4 years away from the NHL but once he gets there watch out.

 

[SP]

His size popped out at me too, but there seem to be varying opinions on him.

And he doesn't sound anything like Andy Sutton, he doesn't seem to use his size well, and is more of an offensive defenseman.

I posted this on another forum, its all I could find on him.

Name: Alex Plante
Position: D
Shoots: Right
Height: 6-5
Weight: 220 lbs
Birthdate: 1989-05-09
Eligible for Draft: 2007
Hometown, State: Brandon, Manitoba

Ranked 27th overall by the ISS.
Ranked 72nd among North American skaters by the CSS.
Ranked in 60-80 range by NHL Draft Buzz Blog.

Junior Stats
[tt]
Regular Season Stats
Season Team GP G A PTS +/- PIM
2004-05 Calgary 8 0 0 0 -3 6
2005-06 Calgary 54 1 3 4 -2 72
2006-07 Calgary 58 8 30 38 18 81

Playoff Stats
Season Team GP G A PTS +/- PIM
2005 Calgary 11 0 0 0 4 17
2006 Calgary 13 0 0 0 -2 6
2007 Calgary 13 5 6 11 0 14[/tt]

The only scouting report I could find was from the aforementioned blog, so take it with a grain of salt.

Scouting Report: Big man on defense is a very mystifying prospect from the backend...at six-foot-five you expect a big shutdown, physically punishing defenseman but that is not the case…if anything, is a power play specialist…is a slick passer and opportunistic shooter with the man advantage…has impressive hands and is able to make surprisingly nice moves standing still and also in flight…not sure he has a natural feel for the game…has very good stats and measurables but is a product of being able to handle less talented and developed junior players…is a peculiar skater…legs flail out to sides in a way that makes him seem like a poor skater…possesses subpar acceleration, surprisingly good agility and mobility, and just average straight line skating and speed…lags a bit skating backwards and has trouble containing smaller, shiftier forwards on the attack…has top-end potential as a similar player to Minnesota’s Kurtis Foster.

Draft Day Status/Projection: DraftBuzz forecasts Plante as a second-fourth rounder, as Plante continued to find his way onto the scoresheet in the playoffs. Not our type of player- we have him ranked in the 60-80 range- but nonetheless a big man who can man the point like he does and score at an impressive clip will garner serious attention.

Would fit in well on the Sens, but I'd probably wait until the 2nd round the get him. He's not what his size led me to believe.

 

[JR#9*]

After watching him play he is SLOW. He gets blown by on a few plays and he slashes and hooks a lot. The way he uses his stick he'd be called for a lot of penaltys in the new Nhl. Also he doesn't use his size as well as he should Overall he looks like a decent prospect, but he needs a lot of work.

 

[MS]

The scouting report posted above is almost dead on.

His offensive skills are really nice for such a big guy. Good passer, big shot, comfortable on the PP, can surprise you by lugging the puck up the ice and pulling fancy dekes out of his ass. But his skating/footspeed is a major problem, his defensive reads are marginal, and he takes a lot of dumb penalties.

Kurtis Foster is a name mentioned a lot, and he also has a fair few similarities to Mathieu Biron.

I'm not a big fan, and have him rated quite a bit lower than most. To me, having poor hockey sense combined with not having the speed to recover from mistakes is a kiss of death for a blueline prospect. I'd guess he'll go 25-35 overall, but personally I'd have him rated somewhere in the 40-60 range at best, and would rate 6 other WHL defenders ahead of him.

Boggles my mind that RLR have him rated ahead of Keaton Ellerby.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

I simply hope that no team I like takes him. I do not ever see him playing an NHL game. His footspeed is atrocious and he is a terribly stupid player on the ice. Takes many penalties simply because he cannot keep up and takes even more because he has a ridiculous temper. Cannot hit anybody because he is too slow to get into position to hit anyone. Needs to learn the game in the defensive end of the rink. Has a cannon of a shot and a nice passer but very little else.

Just my opinion, though.

 

[PSUhockey34]

The scouting report posted above is almost dead on.

His offensive skills are really nice for such a big guy. Good passer, big shot, comfortable on the PP, can surprise you by lugging the puck up the ice and pulling fancy dekes out of his ass. But his skating/footspeed is a major problem, his defensive reads are marginal, and he takes a lot of dumb penalties.

Kurtis Foster is a name mentioned a lot, and he also has a fair few similarities to Mathieu Biron.

I'm not a big fan, and have him rated quite a bit lower than most. To me, having poor hockey sense combined with not having the speed to recover from mistakes is a kiss of death for a blueline prospect. I'd guess he'll go 25-35 overall, but personally I'd have him rated somewhere in the 40-60 range at best, and would rate 6 other WHL defenders ahead of him.

Boggles my mind that RLR have him rated ahead of Keaton Ellerby.

going into their draft year, would a former Calgary Hitmen, Jeff Schultz, be a decent comparison?

 

[MS]

going into their draft year, would a former Calgary Hitmen, Jeff Schultz, be a decent comparison?

Not overly ...

Schultz was always a smart, disciplined, positionally sound player which is pretty much the opposite of Plante, who is often a brain fart/dumb penalty looking for a place to happen. Schultz's big problem was how passive he was for his size, especially in the corners and in front of the net.

Plante is more skilled, has a much better shot, and more projectable offensive tools. Schultz was never fleet afoot, but seemed stronger on his skates.

I'd have a hard time calling them similar because of the big discrepancy in hockey sense, which is to me by far the most important factor in making/breaking pro defenders. If you're smart/solid, you'll go a long way, especially when you're 6'6. If you aren't, your skating/recovery skills have to be ridiculous to compensate.

 

[Aaron Vickers]

Not overly ...

Schultz was always a smart, disciplined, positionally sound player which is pretty much the opposite of Plante, who is often a brain fart/dumb penalty looking for a place to happen. Schultz's big problem was how passive he was for his size, especially in the corners and in front of the net.

Plante is more skilled, has a much better shot, and more projectable offensive tools. Schultz was never fleet afoot, but seemed stronger on his skates.

I'd have a hard time calling them similar because of the big discrepancy in hockey sense, which is to me by far the most important factor in making/breaking pro defenders. If you're smart/solid, you'll go a long way, especially when you're 6'6. If you aren't, your skating/recovery skills have to be ridiculous to compensate.

Schultz was also an amazing skater for being six-foot-six. In my opinion the two do not compare well together at all, like you suggested.

 

[Espo7]

From what I've seen in WHL action, Plante looks like he has the potential, but still needs a lot of time to fine tune his skills. I'd assume he'll be a early-mid second rounder.

 

[rigger]

From what I've seen in WHL action, Plante looks like he has the potential, but still needs a lot of time to fine tune his skills. I'd assume he'll be a early-mid second rounder.

I think this is becoming the general consensus with him. He may go in the 2nd round due to size and possibilities.

Having said all that, is there anyone out there that thinks a team might take Ellerby over Alzner.

 

[Bookman]

I just hope the Wild steer clear - 1 Kurtis Foster is enough.