Jasen Wise, one of the proprietors of the GRIT Hockey Club, has stopped and wondered who’s having more fun at his camps this summer: the kids who signed up for his training sessions, or Max Plante, the Red Wings prospect who’s coaching them.

“He has so much fun out there.,” Wise told The Hockey News. “He loves being on the ice. He loves the game of hockey. You wish that you could bottle positive energy and sell it, and if you could, you’d make millions.”

GRIT Hockey Club is an eight-week program in Duluth, right near Plante’s hometown of Hermantown. His close friend Ty Hanson coached for the program last summer, and he recommended Max and Zam Plante to work this season. Max in particular has been a big hit with the kids, who the young hockey players at camp have gravitated toward.

“When I’m on the ice, I’m helping the kids, I can kind of work on my hands and work on my shot,” Max said Sunday of his favorite part of working with GRIT. “I guess it’s not really coaching them, but just like fiddling with the puck, I feel like that’s helping a lot.”

It’s a wonder Max Plante has any time to help out at all. Between the NHL Combine, the NHL Draft, Red Wings development camp and more, his summer has seen enough airline mileage to rival Taylor Swift. His latest stop? The World Junior Summer Showcase, where he’s trying to make a good impression to join a Team USA that will look to defend last year’s gold medal in Ottawa’s World Junior Championship come December.

So far, Plante has impressed. In the showcase’s first two games, he played in the top six and on the first power play unit alongside high-level returners like Ryan Leonard, Gabriel Perreault, Zeev Buium and presumptive 2025 No. 1 pick James Hagens. The big dogs, and Plante is running right alongside them. For a young player in his first showcase camp, Plante’s coaches recognize that what he’s doing is impressive.

“To play with players of that caliber, sometimes there can be a level of pressure that comes with it. I don’t think we saw that today,” USA coach David Carle said Friday on the opening day of the showcase. “You know, if you’re playing with Ovechkin, you feel like you gotta put every pass in the perfect spot. As a player, there can be that level of pressure where you want to be perfect. And we have really good players on this team, and him being the younger guy playing with three of the guys on the team a year ago, there can be that little bit of pressure. But again, I didn’t see that today.”

Neither did Plante show signs of pressure later in the camp. In Sunday’s scrimmage against Sweden, he scored the opening goal for a USA Blue squad full of returners. Playing the bumper on that squad’s top power play, his unit scored in each game against the Swedes and Finland on Monday. Plante looked the part of a regular, which is encouraging for a player in the middle of July.

Away from the puck, Plante’s positioning and hockey IQ have stood out. Those are the traits that got Detroit excited to select him 47th overall in the draft last month, and those are traits that will help him get far in his hockey career. They have been apparent for years to those who watched him at Hermantown High School, including Wise himself.

“I think from the neck down, his skill set speaks for itself, but from the neck up, it’s his hockey IQ on the ice — awareness,” Wise said. Wise’s young sons are frequent viewers of Plante’s film online because of this. “He’s always moving. He’s always reading the plays. He’s reacting. He’s good at anticipation, just knowing what’s going to happen before it happens or he can see things developing. From the neck up, I think he’s probably one of the smartest guys on the ice all the time. And just (his) compete level, he wants to win. And I think he elevates the guys around him.”

Even areas that aren’t true strengths have stood out to those who’ve watched Plante at the Summer Showcase. Take it from Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, who has been assisting the USA coaching staff.

“I knew the hockey sense, world-class IQ,” Lalonde said Monday. “What I was really taken (aback) from at development camp and my time here is how (much) better he skates than I probably anticipated, and how strong he is on the skates. I think he’s going to be a really, really nice player. Really good job by our staff.”

Quality skating runs in the Plante family. It’s a trait passed down from his dad, Derek, who was known for his effortless skating as an eight-year NHLer. And while Red Wings assistant general manager Kris Draper said at the draft that the elder Plante is still the better skater of the two, Max’s skating has looked good in both games and practices at the Summer Showcase.

Draper and the front office got a chance to view him in action Monday when they attended the showcase. Plante left that game without recording a point, but he drew a tripping penalty with his footspeed and he made a nice shot block early in the game that set the tone for a convincing 5-3 win over the Finns. The cerebral play makes him an interesting prospect in the Red Wings’ system, but versatility in other areas could make him an impactful one.

After Monday’s games, returners from last year’s Team USA went home, giving Plante and other players a chance to show what they can do in elevated roles. This should be an opportunity for Plante to show what he can do without the assistance of some experience teammates. Later this week, he’ll also get the chance to square off against Canada, a team with six top-10 draft picks. This should be a pressure-cooker for the intentionally undermanned Americans.

Once the Showcase is over, Max’s summer schedule remains jam-packed. In a few more weeks, Max will move into his freshman dorm at Minnesota-Duluth, where he and his brother will skate for the same Bulldogs program as their dad. Life isn’t slowing down for Max, and neither is he. All the while, he has kept working with GRIT Hockey Club.

“We didn’t know how busy his summer was going to be. I don’t think he did either,” Wise said. “Then, because he’s such a good hockey player, he gets opportunities. And now he gets to play on the biggest stage with the best players in the world.”

No pressure. At least, no pressure for Plante.