Alex Plante

Alexandre "Alex" Plante (born May 9, 1989) is a Canadian-South Korean professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League. 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 goaltender in the Florida Panthers organization.

 Playing career 

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. 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. 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. 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 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 of the American Hockey League (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 and recorded an assist. He was returned to Springfield as injured players returned to the Oilers' lineup.

 Career statistics 

     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 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 0 0 0 11 — — — — — 2011–12 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — — NHL totals 10 0 2 2 15 — — — — —

 References 

 Other websites 

Alex Plante's profile at the WHL 

Category:1989 births
Category:Living people
Category:Calgary Hitmen players
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:Edmonton Oilers players
Category:Ice hockey people from Brandon, Manitoba
Category:Oklahoma City Barons players
Category:Springfield Falcons players