By Trevor Redden

The Captains: Soft-spoken Montgomery leads by example

Jan 23, 2019 | 11:03 AM

PaNOW takes a look at the team leaders on the Prince Albert Raiders starting with Parker Kelly

Raider forward Sean Montgomery typically likes to let his play do the talking.

Now known for his soft-spoken nature, it turns out he hasn’t always been that way.

“When Sean was a kid, he was always talking,” said his father Rob with a smile. “One time I even had to tell him to shut up because he was talking so much, but since those days he’s definitely become the quiet one in the family.”

Head Coach Marc Habscheid has referred to Montgomery as EF Hutton based on his understated nature. Although he doesn’t speak often, when he chooses to, his words hold weight.  

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Now in his fifth-year as a Raider and closing in on the all-time record for games played with the franchise, Montgomery is one of four players to wear a letter on the top-ranked team on the nation.

“I’m probably not the most vocal guy in the room, but I try to lead by example every night,” said Montgomery. “I try to build off what [captain Brayden] Pachal has been doing. He’s been doing a great job obviously, so we all try to work together and keep building off each other.”

Joining the Raiders as a 16-year-old, Montgomery was the lone player from this year’s group that was on the team when Marc Habscheid took over from Cory Clouston early in the 2014-15 season.

While that team missed the playoffs by nine points, Habscheid knew he had a player in Montgomery that could become a cornerstone of the organization moving forward.

“I knew that he was a winner. Not just a winner on the ice but a winner in life,” said Habscheid. “He understood that nothing is given, and everything is earned.”

Speaking with his parents Rob and Sherry, there’s no question he came by that mindset honestly.

When Sean was born on March 7, 1998, the family had recently moved to Alaska, where he spent the first six years of his life.

As a Canadian amongst many Americans working in the oil and gas industry in Alaska, Rob took on the role of hockey coach for his boys Sean and Brendan as well as anybody else in the area that wanted to be involved in the sport. Rob had played Junior A as a young man and happily became the coach, but very few of the American fathers were able to skate, so Sherry was leaned on to come on the ice and help the boys out.

“We didn’t have push carts or anything like that, so I would come and hold the boys up to help them get skating faster, but they would often tell me ‘you’re a girl, you can’t teach me how to skate,’” recalled Sherry with a laugh.

“So, I’d just let go of them and they’d fall and have to figure it out on their own because there was nobody else out there.”

For some on the ice back in Alaska, hockey wasn’t going to work out, but for both Montgomery brothers it has been a rewarding pursuit. Brendan is a former captain of the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Sean is now a five-year veteran of the WHL.

After six years in Alaska, the Montgomerys moved to Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, where Rob continued his career working in oil and gas.

Despite being across the world from hockey-crazed Canada and having no snow in sight, Brendan and Sean were able to continue playing hockey and other sports in Saudi Arabia. There was one ice rink in Al Khobar, and the brothers made frequent trips to play in tournaments in places like Oman and Qatar.

The family was happy in Saudi Arabia and planned to stay there for several years until a terrorist attack shook Al Khobar on May 29, 2004. Four gunmen attacked the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation Building, and the Oasis 3 Compound which was primarily home to foreign workers living in the region. The city’s lone ice rink was also located within the compound.

Altogether, 22 people were killed and 25 were injured, with the casualties all coming from foreign countries including USA, UK, Sweden, and Italy.

“We had been in the rink the day before [the attacks],” recalled Rob. “Originally, we were going to have the kids stay over there in somebody’s house, but luckily I think they did something wrong, so we told them they couldn’t stay.”

“That would’ve been a different story.”

Shortly after the attacks, the Montgomerys decided to relocate back to Calgary. Some families decided to stay, and to this day there have been no further incidents in the area, but Rob and Sherry weren’t willing to take the chance with two young boys.

Back in Calgary, the two parents continued to support their sons in all their athletic pursuits, whether in baseball, soccer, golf, or hockey.

“They pushed us to be better in whatever sport we wanted to do, and I think that helped,” said Sean.

If you watch the Raiders today, you’ll see a player that brings everything to the table every single night, whether that means providing offense, winning faceoffs, or blocking shots.

Montgomery was always amongst the top players on his team growing up, but he acknowledged that his parents made sure he wasn’t taking any shortcuts. Upon arrival in Prince Albert, he was grateful for having that mindset because he learned quickly that the points wouldn’t come easy at this level right off the bat.

“I thought I’d start to focus on other things, and we just kind of built off that and that’s where I learned to do that stuff [playing defensively, killing penalties, winning face offs, etc.].”

As a first-year Raider, he identified Jordan Tkatch as a player he looked up to.

“He was always really good at the details and I liked the way he played so I always tried to model it after him, and it’s been working,” said Montgomery.

Montgomery has come by the opportunity he’s been given as an over age player honestly. As of Tuesday, only five players across the entire league had taken more faceoff attempts than Montgomery, showing the trust that his coaching staff has in him in all situations.

In addition to his defensive responsibilities, Montgomery has exploded for 44 points in 46 games this year, surpassing his previous career high of 29 points in 72 games last season.

Reflecting on how far he’s come, learning to play hockey while growing up in three different countries, Montgomery understands the value of all his parents have done for him. To this day, they still make it out as often as they can.

“It means a lot. Obviously, they can’t come to every game, but they definitely watch on TV every night,” said Montgomery.

Along with captain Brayden Pachal and fellow assistants Parker Kelly and Zack Hayes, Montgomery represents the workmanlike approach that has helped to lift the Raiders to a level that hasn’t been seen in a long time.

While fans in Prince Albert may feel like they’ve watched him grow up in front of their own eyes over five seasons, Montgomery passes much of the credit on to his parents and all they’ve done for him.

“I just want to thank them for their support.”