Brandon Montour was welcomed home as a hero when the defenceman returned to Six Nations last summer even after Florida Panthers’ NHL finals loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Today, he’ll also be welcome as a champion in the Brantford, Ont.-area community, bringing the Stanley Cup with him.
Montour and his Panthers teammates beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 on June 24 in Florida. As is tradition, members of the winning team get a day with the Cup.
Montour, who’s of Mohawk descent and was born in Ohsweken, a community within Six Nations of the Grand River, is bringing the coveted trophy home.
For its part, Six Nations is hosting a Stanley Cup parade, which runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET, on Wednesday. It starts at Oshweken Speedway and will end up at the Six Nations Sports and Culture Memorial Arena.
“Please be mindful that time is limited and we anticipate thousands of fans,” the Six Nations elected council said in a news release this month. The council also asks parade guests not to park on the side of the road, a two-kilometre route to the arena.
“We are very proud of Brandon and his accomplishments,” Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill told CBC Hamilton in mid-July. “This celebration is historic and we’re glad Brandon is sharing his day with Six Nations.”
During his NHl career, Montour, 30, has also been with the Anaheim Ducks and the Buffalo Sabres. He joined Florida in 2021 and will start the new NHL season with the Seattle Kraken, after the team announced on July 1 that it had signed him to a seven-year deal.
Montour seen as an inspiration
in an interview with the CBC’s Metro Morning in June, Montour’s aunt, Jaime Lynne Montour, said she “choked” when she saw her nephew hoist the Stanley Cup.
“Brandon, you have no idea the impact that he is doing for First Nations people, no clue how big it is for them — to inspire a community, not just this community, but other communities in Canada,” she said.
After the Cup-clinching game, a post on the Six Nations elected council’s Facebook page read: “For the first time in the modern era of the National Hockey League, a member of Six Nations of the Grand River has won hockey’s greatest prize. Congrats #62, #WelcometoSixNayStanley.”
Montour and fellow NHL player Adam Henrique, a member of the Oilers, hold an annual golf tournament that raises money for several charities in the region that help children stay active through sports. This year’s fourth annual tournament took place July 19 at the MontHill Golf & Country Club in Caledonia.
“When I was a kid — I don’t really know the last person from Six Nations to make it to the NHL,” Montour told the CBC after the 2023 season. “I didn’t really have that, but to become neighbours or see me at a lacrosse game, things of that nature, it gives them that hope, I hope, that they could get there one day as well.”