COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Derek Plante (Cloquet, Minn.), a Stanley Cup champion who spent eight years in the NHL, including six with the Buffalo Sabres and is now a developmental coach for the Chicago Blackhawks, and Jeremy Roenick (Boston, Mass.), a current studio analyst for the NHL on NBC Sports who played 20 years in the NHL and is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, will serve as head coaches for the fourth annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game on Sept. 24 in Buffalo, New York, it was announced today by USA Hockey.
The event, which will feature 42 of the top American-born prospects eligible for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, will be staged at First Niagara Center, home of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
Combined, Plante and Roenick represented the United States in international competition on 13 occasions, including one Canada Cup, three International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships, seven IIHF Men’s World Championships, and two Olympic Winter Games.
Plante played in the NHL from 1993-2001, suiting up for the Buffalo Sabres (1993-99), Dallas Stars (1998-2000), Chicago Blackhawks (1999-2000) and Philadelphia Flyers (2000-01). A member of the 1999 Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars, Plante amassed 248 points (96-152) in 450 NHL career games before spending another seven seasons playing professionally in Europe and Japan. Internationally, Plante skated for Team USA at six IIHF Men’s World Championships, helping the U.S. earn bronze medals at the 1996 and 2004 events. He also played for Team USA at the 1991 IIHF World Junior Championship. This past August, Plante served as head coach for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, a position he also held in 2014. He was also an assistant coach for his alma mater, the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2011 NCAA Division I national championship.
Selected eighth overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Roenick skated for five teams over 20 NHL seasons, including the Blackhawks (1988-96), Phoenix Coyotes (1996-2001, 2006-07), Philadelphia Flyers (2001-04), Los Angeles Kings (2005-06) and San Jose Sharks (2007-09). In total, the nine-time NHL All-Star amassed 513 goals and 703 assists in 1,363 games. His 513 goals and 1,216 points both rank fourth in NHL history among Americans. Internationally, Roenick represented the United States on six different occasions, including two Olympic Winter Games (1998, 2002), one Canada Cup (1991), one IIHF Men’s World Championship (1991) and two World Junior Championships (1988, 1989). A silver medalist with the 2002 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, altogether Roenick recorded 48 points in 41 games while wearing a Team USA sweater in international competition.
NOTES: Danton Cole (Pontiac, Mich.), head coach for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 Team, will serve as an assistant to Plante, while Chris Luongo (Fraser, Mich.), assistant coach for USA Hockey’s NTDP Under-18 Team, will serve as Roenick’s assistant coach … Tickets for the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game are on sale now at AllAmericanProspectsGame.com … For the full roster of the 42 players competing in this year’s game, click here … Players selected to compete in the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game were chosen by USA Hockey in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting … The Buffalo Sabres and First Niagara Center are hosting the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game for the second consecutive year and third time overall. Last year, Team Grier defeated Team Olczyk, 6-3. On Sept. 29, 2012, Team McClanahan beat Team Housley, 5-2, in the inaugural event.
