COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After revealing its two individual defenseman honors last Friday, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced both of its individual forward awards on Monday. Minnesota Duluth sophomore Max Plante is the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Forward of the Year award, while St. Cloud State junior Tyson Gross has been selected the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year award.
 
Plante and Gross are both finalists for NCHC Player of the Year, as well, which will be announced on Thursday. Both also garnered First-Team All-NCHC honors this season. In addition, Gross was the runner-up to Plante for 2025-26 NCHC Forward of the Year honors.
 
Plante is the first Bulldog to bag NCHC Forward of the Year in conference history, while Gross is the third Husky to claim Defensive Forward of the Year. Former SCSU standout Jami Krannila won the award in 2022-23, while new Vegas Golden Knights forward Nic Dowd won the inaugural Defensive Forward of the Year in 2013-14.
 
Plante posted a career year for the Bulldogs and was the lone unanimous selection to the All-NCHC First Team this season. The Detroit Red Wings draft pick finished second in the NCHC in the regular season with 45 points in 34 games while pacing the conference with 22 goals, a total that tied him for fourth in the NCAA. Plante buried five game-winning goals in the regular season (he now has six) to rank second in the NCHC, while posting a +12 plus/minus.
 
Including the NCHC Tournament, Plante is now first in the NCHC with 48 points in 37 games and has 23 goals, after helping UMD advance to Saturday’s Frozen Faceoff Championship Game at Denver. Both his point and goal totals rank fifth nationally currently, while he carries a +16 plus/minus.
 
In conference play, Plante was fifth in scoring, averaging more than a point per game with 25 points in 24 games. The Hermantown, Minn. native scored 12 goals and added 13 assists in NCHC action, ranking fifth in goals, as well.
 
Plante failed to score a point in only one series all season, while logging 14 multi-point games. The UMD assistant captain was the NCHC and National Forward of the Month for October, when he also picked up a Forward of the Week nod.
 
Gross compiled an incredible campaign for the Huskies this season, before signing an NHL contract with his hometown Calgary Flames as a free agent last Thursday. The SCSU captain led the team with 41 points and 23 assists in the regular season, while ranking second on the squad with 18 goals. 
 
Gross tied for fourth in the NCHC in regular-season scoring (41 points) and ranked second in conference games with 28 points. The Calgary, Alberta native captured the NCHC goal-scoring title with 16 goals in conference play to lead all skaters. He is also tied for the NCHC lead with two short-handed goals overall, both of which came in conference play.
 
Gross has been dominant in the center circle all season, posting a faceoff win percentage of 59.3 percent in the regular season, which ranked fourth in the conference and eighth in the NCAA. He continues to lead the country with 464 faceoff wins. Gross blocked 12 shots on the year, while being a staple of the Huskies penalty kill unit.
 
Gross collected his second career nod as NCHC Forward of the Week in February, as well.
 
Western Michigan junior forward Owen Michaels was the runner-up for NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year this season. NCHC Forward and Defensive Forward of the Year and all playing awards are voted on by each of the NCHC’s nine head coaches and one media member covering each of the NCHC’s nine programs (18 voters total). Voting was conducted and completed following the regular season and prior to the beginning of the postseason.
 
Tomorrow (Tuesday) the NCHC Rookie of the Year and the NCHC Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winner will be announced, while Wednesday will feature the NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year. The final NCHC individual award for 2025-26 will be handed out on Thursday, which will go to the Conference’s Player of the Year.
 
2025-26 NCHC Individual Award Winners announced so far:

• Media Excellence Award - Matt Wellens, Duluth News Tribune
• Three Stars Award – Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
• Sportsmanship Award – Blake Mesenburg, Miami
• Goaltender of the Year - Jan Špunar, North Dakota
• Offensive Defenseman of the Year – Eric Pohlkamp, Denver
• Defensive Defenseman of the Year – Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth
• Forward of the Year – Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
• Defensive Forward of the Year – Tyson Gross, St. Cloud State