Some love for Brandon Montour?

[Poutine]

**I will preface this post with the caveat that I haven't watched any games (only because I'm not able to, where I live).**

I've been monitoring Montour since last year and have really enjoyed seeing his progression so far. He seems to be flying under the radar during these playoffs but still averaging over 20 minutes per game (on top-ish pair with Lindholm), with 0.5 ppg and getting a taste of PP minutes some games.

I'd love to hear from people who have actually been watching the games to get their impressions, as I'm targeting him in the next draft.

[Eskimo Brother]

Can't say I have seen too much of him, but he did look very good last night from what I noticed. The problem isn't him though, it's Anaheim's organizational depth on D that's holding him back.

[Bass56]

In the playoffs, he's currently tied for 2nd on the team with +9!!!
Rakell is on top with +10 and Getzlaf has +9... His partner, Lindholm, has a +8 and the rest of the Ds are in the -2 to +5 range (Vatanen @ -2, Bieksa @ +5).
He's also tied for 2nd in pts for a defenseman with 5 (tied with Fowler who has less games played and 2 behind Theodore).

I think the Ducks will find good use for him in the near future as he's showing them that he is able to play the game with his skillset at the next level!

[Shift Disturber]

I think the Ducks' young D was an overlooked story - lots of attention paid to the Oilers youth. Not only has Montour played well, but they paired Manson with Theodore...remarkable to get to the conference finals with three very young D.

[Axeman33]

I've been a fan of Montour for some time now. It was never a question of his skill, it was more a question of his opportunity. Glad to see it came a little earlier than expected. I didn't think we'd see him this much until next season after the Ducks make a move or two on the back end.

[Jouko-Pouko]

I've really liked what I've seen from Montour in the playoffs. I expected him to be a risk-taker who makes costly mistakes but he hasn't been that. He's shown he can handle NHL competition and play big minutes. I don't know why he hasn't received more PP time but that could definitely change next season.

The Ducks are likely to lose Vatanen or Manson in the summer (Vatanen more likely at this point I think), so there's room for Montour. I'm not so sure about Theodore, he hasn't been all that great and there's more competition on the left side with Fowler and Lindholm taking all the minutes there.

[Thunder]

Last night was the only Ducks game Ive watched in full during these playoffs, and I thought he was arguably their best D. Only one game, but I'm definitely going to pay closer attention to him from now on.

[StuntMan12]

am a big fan of him. it's nice to see people of the same ethnicity as me having success at the NHL level since not many make it. good luck to him.

[Sulla]

Agree with the concensus here - Montour is a nice prospect and revolves around opportunity rather than ability. I think everyone holding him/Theodore have this off season circled as to when that opportunity opens up for him but he is getting a look now due to injuries and hasn't looked out of place - far from it!

[Poutine]

Great feedback, everyone. I think he's been solidified as my 2nd round pick target.

[Princeton]

I love trying to grab young D before they take off and cost you a ton in a trade. Some swings and some misses admittedly but Montour is my favorite up and coming D. Smooth skater and great vision. Very quick release on his shot as well. Our league rewards D goals and his numbers at every level have jumped off the page to me. Theodore who is currently listed as Dobber's number 1 prospect D played a lot of the year with Montour in San Diego.

Stats:
Theodore GP: 20 G: 5 Assists: 15 Total: 20
Montour GP: 36 G: 13 Assists: 19 Total: 32

Note that in my league that rewards G's that would translate to:

Theodore: 30 pts in 20 games or 1.5 pts per game
Montour: 58 pts in 36 games or 1.61 pts per game.

Both should be very good but for my setup Montour is the guy I coveted.

[agentzero]

Montour is the faster skater and the right handed shot. Mentioned in another thread that he gets the puck out fast and moves it even faster. I don't know that he has Theodore's smarts or ability to use his size at 5 on 5 situations, but he is definitely a puck rushing specialist. If his games continues to rise and he is able to hold 20 mins of regular 5x5 shifts, he will score a lot of points. One thing's for sure, he will take a lot of shots. He has been impressive in the offensive and puck rushing departments.

[Bubba55]

I drafted Montour last summer and was thinking a two or three year wait was realistic, the old D-men mature slower that forwards argument. Maybe I was wrong!! What I find particularly encouraging is the faith that the coach has placed in him this deep into the playoffs. He was given more ice time than Theodore probably due to the offensive numbers he was putting up but most definitely due to the impressive +/- . It's certainly about opportunity on the Ducks back end looking forward to next year but I think Montour has positioned himself nicely, a top 4 job may well be his to lose. Top pairing a year or two down the road may also be a possibility. We'll see what happens, but Montour owners have to be pleased.

[StuntMan12]

Don Cherry was just giving Montour his props!

[butch]

do the ducks have to protect him or is he exempt ?

isles have to protect Pulock who has similar AHL gp's to him so I'll assume yes.