College Hockey Star Finds His True Strength in Community and Christ

Published: July 2, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

The University of Minnesota Duluth hockey star Max Plante was named the 2026 recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, but his relationship with Christ matters more than anything.

Plante, a sophomore forward from Hermantown, Minnesota, has “been one of the top scorers in the nation all season long. Teamed up with his brother Zam and Jayson Shaugabay, the trio formed one of the most formidable forward lines across college hockey this past season. Max proved early on this was going to be a special year as he collected points in 11 of his first 13 games of the season,” a press release reads.

The award was created to “promote amateur hockey in the United States” and “honor outstanding collegiate hockey players, legends of hockey and high school hockey players who demonstrate exceptional hockey skills, leadership, character, sportsmanship and scholastic achievement.”

Aside from the Hobey Baker Award, Plante was also recognized with several other awards, including: “National Collegiate Hockey Conference Player of the Year, NCHC Forward of the Year, First Team All-Conference, College Hockey News Player of the Year, and he was named the National Forward of the Month for October when he picked up nine goals and nine assists in his first nine games.”

The awards are great, but for Plante, what matters most is his relationship with Christ. While away in college, he dedicated his Tuesday evenings to Bible studies.

“So here at Duluth, we have a guy named Billy Butters who is our chaplain. He comes normally every Tuesday during the season, but then I’m also part of AIA [Athletes In Action] with the school, so like football guys, basketball girls, basketball guys, baseball guys, so all the other athletes at UMD, we kind of go, and that’s also on Tuesdays,” Plante said on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast.

For more inspiring sports stories, check out Sports Spectrum.

“Normally, I double up on Tuesday with Bible studies, but it’s just kind of cool for me. My chapel’s been hockey guys, so this year I think it really kind of helped me listening to other sport people like just talk about how they use Christ in their sport, and how having a community really helps,” the hockey star continued.

“And one of the girls on the women’s hockey team invited me to go this year, and I’ve honestly met like pretty much all the other athletes that I know in the school through Athletes In Action, and if I didn’t meet them through there, I know them because I met someone at Athletes In Action,” Plante added. “So, yeah, it’s been just not even learning about Christ, but just learning about other people and stuff too. I think that’s been a lot of fun.”

Ultimately, while Plante’s incredible on-ice performance cemented his status as college hockey’s finest player, it is his deep-rooted faith and devotion to the athletic community that truly define his remarkable sophomore season.

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