Brandon Montour returned to the Seattle Kraken lineup over the weekend, but it was with a heavy heart.
Montour revealed the reason he missed four games while on personal leave was because of the death of his older brother, Cameron Noble-Montour, 34, due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Montour played 23 minutes, 39 seconds and was tied for the team-high with three shots and three blocks in a 3-2 victory Saturday against Edmonton.
The Kraken, who are 3-0-0 at home this season, are set to play host to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night in Seattle.
“So, my older brother’s been dealing with ALS for three, four years now, and it was a rough week,” Montour said before Saturday’s game. “I’m very proud and very happy to be his brother. He’s somebody that I’ve looked up to since, obviously, Day 1. (He was) a great son, brother, best friend, father. He’s got two baby girls.
“He battled hard. It puts everything in perspective with the highs that I’ve had in the last couple years, with winning (the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024) and hockey and having babies and creating my own family. (All that time), he was at home battling. Right until (last) Monday when it happened, he was smiling, and he was ready.”
Kraken captain Jordan Eberle, who scored twice Saturday, said, “You just try to be there as much as you can for him.”
“He’s a brother,” Eberle said. “I mean, anytime someone goes through something like that, it’s extremely hard. Just for him to be out here (Saturday) and battling with us, it just shows his compassion and the level that he has …”
Montour, who missed most of training camp following ankle surgery, has four assists in five games this season.
“I’ve only practiced once or twice a year and missed a lot, so I’ll try to get back into it as quick as I can,” Montour said. “I’ve been watching from afar and (have been) happy with how the guys are playing.”
The Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens are coming off a 4-3 victory Saturday in Vancouver, with Ivan Demidov scoring a goal and adding two assists. It was the first career three-point game for the 19-year-old rookie.
Both of Demidov’s assists came with the man advantage after he was moved to Montreal’s top unit.
“He’s a great player on the power play,” said Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, who has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) during a nine-game point streak, the longest in the league this season. “His poise and vision, he’s always finding plays, finding seams, he’s got a good shot, and he’s probably run every single power play he’s ever been on, so he’s got a lot of reps on those.”
Demidov’s goal came at 11:09 of the third period, giving Montreal a 4-2 lead.
“I’ve known all along that ‘Demi’ can play on the first power play,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I got to a certain point with Demi where I felt like he had showed me that he’s willing to play on the other side of the game, the defensive game, and he’s bought in, and he’s actually very attentive and trying to keep getting better. So, for me, that was all signs led to, ‘Okay, it’s time.’ And also, it allows me to give him a little more ice time.”
The Canadiens beat Seattle 5-4 in overtime on Oct. 14 in Montreal as Cole Caufield tallied twice, including the winner.
–Field Level Media
