Former Brantford Golden Eagle and Caledonia Corvair, Brandon Montour got his ticket to the “bigs” this weekend when he was selected 55th overall in the second round of the NHL Drafts by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
Last season he played with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks and was voted the United States Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year, and Player of the Year.
“It’s been an unbelievable year,” said Montour following his selection. “I think going to Waterloo was the best thing I could have done.”
With the Hawks, he was practicing all the time, which he thinks helped speed up his development.
“Being on the ice everyday rather than a practice twice or three times a week was great for me,” He said in a recorded interview.
It was a breakout year for Montour who caught the eye of the NHL scouts with his offensive/defensive style, smooth skating and quick hands.
Former Eagles and Corvairs’ General Manager Brian Rizzetto was very excited to hear the news.
“He was a big part of us for three years,” he said. “He’s just a great kid and he deserves his shot.”
Former coach Mike Bullard was also proud of Montour’s fortune.
“I think its great news for Six Nations and a Six Nations boy who played for us for three years and went to the USHL this year,” said Bullard. “We really missed him this year but he needed to move on. He has been just a great kid for us and all I can say about him is positive. I think Anaheim made an absolutely fantastic pick. He’s going to surprise a lot of people and be a top player. He sees the game well and is such a great skater. I don’t think he expected to go so high in the draft but I told the guys last year he’d go in the second round. He was ranked 110 and he went 55th, so someone saw some potential in him.”
The 6’ 170 lb, defenseman joined the Golden Eagles organization in the 2010-2011 season as a 16 year-old AAA Midget with the Cambridge Hawks, scoring a goal and 13 assists in 35 games played.
In 2011-2012, Montour returned to Brantford for a second season and finished first in the GOJHL’s Mid-Western Conference and won the playoff title. Montour scored 14 goals and 22 assists with 65 penalty minutes in 51 regular season games. He scored 6 goals with 12 assists and 30 penalty minutes in 19 playoff games.
In his last year as a Jr. Montour went from Brantford to the Caledonia Corvairs in his third GOJHL season. In 49 regular season games he scored 18 goals with 49 assists and 94 penalty minutes. In 12 playoff games he scored 4 goals with 11 assists and 22 penalty minutes.
But it was with Waterloo that he really came of age, impressing a lot of important people along the way.
Being drafted is like being given a lottery ticket. One still has a lot of impressing to do until the day he gets the call from the Ducks top brass, but without a ticket, you will never win. Montour knows he has only begun his journey, but is determined to continue to improve every day along the way.
He will be playing for the University of Massachusetts in the upcoming 2014-2015 season where he hopes to continue to learn from great coaches until he gets “the call.”
“It’s going to be a fun ride, that’s for sure,” he said.
