Selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round (No. 121) in the 2013 NHL Draft, Motte is a pesky, undersized presence (5-foot-9, 188 pounds) who has been compared to former Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw.

With the University of Michigan in 2015-16, Motte finished in the top 10 in the Hobey Baker Award voting after scoring 32 goals and 56 points in 38 games and leading the NCAA with 70 blocked shots. He was selected to the Big Ten First All-Star Team and the NCAA West First All-American Team. He turned pro at the end of the season and had five points in five games for Rockford of the American Hockey League.

Like Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, Motte played youth hockey for Detroit Honeybaked. He played two seasons (2011-13) with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, competing in the United States Hockey League and against college and international teams. He tied for third on the Under-17 team in 2011-12 with 41 points and finished third with 25 goals. The next season he tied for the team lead with 26 goals and had 44 points in 63 games.

Motte won a silver medal with the United States at the 2013 World Under-18 Championship, where he had a team-high five goals and seven points in seven games.

At Michigan he had nine goals and 18 points and was plus-nine as a freshman in 2013-14. He was third on the Wolverines with 22 assists the following season and led them with 43 blocked shots. He had four assists, the most by a Michigan player in six seasons, in an 8-3 win against rival Ohio State.

Motte represented the United States at the 2015 World Junior Championship and had one assist in five games. He had one goal and three points in 10 games for the U.S. at the 2016 World Championship.