DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth sophomore wing Max Plante doesn’t get the chance to watch his own teammates play hockey very often, if ever.
Out with an upper-body injury during the latter half of the 2026 World Junior Championship, he did get to observe his Bulldogs and
U.S. National Junior Team teammate Adam Kleber
play a couple games at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
What did Plante see from the stands?
“He was awesome, like our best defenseman,” Plante said. “It was fun to watch. Normally I’m playing with him. It was nice to see from the stands. He just plays with so much heart, and he doesn’t back down to anyone.”
You won’t find Kleber at the top of the statistical charts over at
or
however, he’s top of mind when you talk to his UMD and USA teammates and coaches about defensemen, whether it’s in the NCAA or World Juniors.
The 2024 second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres from Chaska — taken five picks ahead of the Detroit Red Wings’ Plante in that year’s NHL Draft — is a defensive defenseman at 6-foot-6, 229 pounds. After scoring two goals and three assists as a freshman, he’s already matched those numbers heading into the Bulldogs’ NCHC games at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at St. Cloud State.
Kleber had one assist in five games at the 2026 World Juniors
— he had just one assist in six games in 2025 when the U.S. won gold — but his play deserves more credit than scoresheets allow, Plante said.
“I think he turned a lot of heads. People started to realize how good he is,” Plante said of Kleber, who is plus-14 for UMD through 22 games, after finishing the World Juniors with a plus-5 rating in five games. “He’s just steady back there. How he’s grown, he’s not afraid to make plays. He’s stepping up in the plays, holding onto pucks, not freaking out with the puck. He’s really good at just holding onto pucks, and then closing.
all the way around, but he’s been good at closing on guys and just getting pucks back so we can play offense.”
Kleber, who doesn’t turn 20 until late March, has been matched this season with two of college hockey’s top offensive defensemen —
sophomore Ty Hanson of Hermantown
at UMD and Boston University sophomore Cole Hutson on Team USA.
Hutson went one pick after Kleber in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft, to the Washington Capitals at No. 43.
Hanson and Hutson are two of four defensemen in the NCAA averaging over a point per game this season, with Hanson’s 24 points in 22 games tying him with Denver’s Eric Pohlkamp for first in the nation. Hanson’s 18 assists are alone atop the blue liner scoring charts.
Hutson, who has seven goals and 14 assists in 20 games with the Terriers, finished with a goal and three assists in three games at the World Juniors after missing a couple games after taking a puck to the neck. He had three goals and eight assists playing with Kleber in 2025.
United States defensemen Adam Kleber (6) and Cole Hutson (44) celebrate a second-period goal with forward Cole Eiserman (34) on Friday, Dec. 26 during the World Junior Championship against Germany at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
Hutson — who at 5-foot-11 is slightly taller than the 5-9 Hanson — said during the World Juniors he enjoys playing with Kleber, especially from an offensive perspective.
“He’s just a steady defender,” said Hutson, who is paired with another Sabres prospect at BU,
“He’s so good at killing plays fast, getting the puck right up the ice. It makes me be able to play a little bit more free, even though I probably shouldn’t be. It’s a blast.”
Playing with Kleber is much more enjoyable than playing against him.
“He’s just so hard to get behind,” Hutson said. “You may think you have a step on him, but he’s got a 20-foot stick to recover.”
Kleber was the workhorse for Team USA coach Bob Motzko — also head coach of Minnesota — during the 2026 World Juniors, leading the U.S. in total ice time (111 minutes, 7 seconds), average ice time (22:13 per game) and total shifts (126).
At UMD, Kleber is averaging 21:21 of ice time per night as a sophomore, a year after playing 18:44 per night as a freshman.
Minnesota Duluth defenseman Adam Kleber (6) and defenseman Ty Hanson (2) celebrate a second-period goal against Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
He’s a player that not only complements two of the NCAA’s top offensive defensemen, but someone coaches can trust on the ice.
“Just a big, solid insurance policy back there,” USA coach Bob Motzko said during the World Juniors.
“One guy not afraid to play defense,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said after Kleber returned to UMD. “Him and Ty logged a lot of minutes (in the first half), but just played really well. We need those guys to continue that.”
Minnesota Duluth defenseman Grayden Siepmann (37) skates with the puck against St. Cloud State forward Jack Reimann (7) on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. Siepmann has been ruled out with an upper-body injury for the rematches with the Huskies this weekend in St. Cloud.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
Kleber could be in for an above average weekend of Olympic ice time in St. Cloud, replacing the injured Grayden Siepmann on the power play.
Siepmann took a hard hit during Friday’s game
against Lindenwood
Sandelin has ruled Siepmann out this week with an upper-body injury.
Unlike most defensemen, Kleber said he’s a fan of playing on the large 200-by-100 ice sheet at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
“I’m excited to use the extra space,” said Kleber, who replaced Siepmann on the second power play unit last Saturday. “In St. Cloud, they have an Olympic rink there, so be poised with the puck and just try to make a lot of plays.”
The No. 6-ranked Bulldogs (16-6 overall, 7-5 NCHC) boast the best power play in the NCAA at 35.1 percent. They scored on two of seven chances — though one PP in the series was just four seconds long — in
and
3-2 overtime win in November over SCSU
in Duluth.
To beat the Huskies (11-11, 4-8) two more times this weekend, UMD will need to be poised on the power play, and 5-on-5, Kleber said.
“St. Cloud is really good at their cycle game,” he said. “We actually worked on it (Wednesday) in practice, just structure over speed. Making sure you’re not getting burnt by racing out to plays and having them play it through you. You got to have really good structure and be a little patient. Have more of a planned attack going in the corners.”