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USHL Waterloo Black Hawks

Montour Headed for Seattle

July 1, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release


Waterloo, Iowa - A week after winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, former Waterloo Black Hawks defenseman Brandon Montour has signed a seven-year contract with the Seattle Kraken on the first day of NHL free agency.

Montour spent the last three full seasons in Florida, playing in 239 regular season games as a Panther and helping the club to the Stanley Cup Final series in consecutive seasons. Despite shoulder surgery last summer, the 30-year-old recovered to take the ice 66 times during the 2023/24 campaign, recording eight goals and 25 assists. Montour was also in the lineup for all 24 Panther playoff games, scoring three times and setting up eight other tallies.

The Kraken will be Montour's fourth NHL team. He also skated for the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres.

Anaheim chose Montour during the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft at the conclusion of his first season with the Waterloo Black Hawks. That spring, he had won the United States Hockey League's Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year awards. An ultimate two-way blue-liner, Montour notched 14 goals and 48 assists for the Black Hawks in 60 regular season games. He was also +35 and helped Waterloo to a team record 44 victories. Montour continued to produce during the Clark Cup playoffs, averaging more than a point-per-game (six goals, 10 assists in a dozen contests) as the Hawks reached the final round.

The Ohsweken, Ontario, native is just the third former Black Hawk to win a Stanley Cup, joining Mark Eaton (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2009) and Zach Sanford (St. Louis Blues, 2019). In nearly every regard, Montour is the most successful former Waterloo defenseman in the NHL. At his position, only Eaton has appeared in more regular season NHL games (650 to Montour's 520), yet Montour has more goals (66), assists (186), and playoff appearances (82).

During the brief history of the Seattle Kraken, no former Waterloo player has ever appeared for the organization. Seattle entered the NHL ahead of the 2021/22 season. Montour's first appearance for the Kraken will mean a Black Hawk has been in the lineup for 30 of the NHL's 32 teams. The remaining exceptions are the Columbus Blue Jackets and Vegas Golden Knights.

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