Montour remembers Boeser’s abilities
Two played junior together briefly
Brandon Montour saw signs Brock Boeser had something special when they were teammates.
Montour, a second-year Anaheim Ducks defenceman, and Vancouver Canucks rookie sniper Boeser both started the 2014-15 campaign as members of the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL, a 17-team Junior A loop based largely in the American Midwest.
Boeser, then 17, was in his first full season of junior after starring with a high school team in Burnsville, Minn. Montour, then 20, was starting his second consecutive campaign with Waterloo.
Montour left just 17 games into the year, jumping to the NCAA ranks with UMass, but his stories about Boeser then mesh with what we’re seeing now.
“He definitely had that shooter’s mentality,” Montour, 23, said after the Ducks’ morning skate Tuesday before playing the Canucks at Rogers Arena. “He was talented offensively. And they did end up using him there in all situations.
“Minnesota is close to that area. We all knew that he was good. We didn’t know how successful he was going to be. I think the hype was there, with this kid being from Burnsville. More than anything, though, is that I remember him being a good guy.”
The Sioux City Musketeers made Boeser the second overall selection in the 2013 USHL Futures Draft. He played eight regularseason games and eight playoff games with them in 2013-14 while finishing high school.
Boeser led Waterloo in scoring in his one season there, producing 68 points (35 goals) in 57 games. That was the third-best total in the league. Waterloo finished seven points out of a playoff spot, though.
Midway through the campaign, Boeser announced his commitment to the University of North Dakota, and that summer was drafted 23rd overall by the Canucks.
Montour, meanwhile, was a second-round pick of the Ducks in 2014, going 55th overall. The 23-year-old from Brantford, Ont., split last season between Anaheim and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
The six-foot, 192-pound righthanded shot went into Tuesday leading Anaheim defencemen in scoring, thanks to his 19 points (six goals) in 38 games. He was averaging 18:37 of ice time.