[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Re-entry Edition, Vol. 6):

In 2022-23, his first year of eligibility for the NHL Draft, LW Blake Montgomery was toiling in the Prep School League, and wasn't exactly setting the world on fire with his play- thus, he found himself on the outside looking in as far as being a 2023 selection. In the 2023-24 season however, the 19 year-old winger has been dominant in the USHL with the Lincoln Stars, despite posting rather modest totals of 22 goals and 43 points in 58 games, to go with 43 PIM. Those numbers have a lot to do with the fact that the Stars finished 11th out of 16 teams and were 15th in goals-scored, losing in the quarterfinals of the playoffs- with Montgomery only being able to muster 1 point in 5 games. Monty was third in scoring for Lincoln in the regular season, but the two players above him were tied, and only had 1 more point in 4 games more games each. Monty comes from a very athletic family; his brother Bryce was drafted in the 6th round of the 2021 NHL Draft by Carolina, his Father was a Div.3 NCAA defenseman, and his uncle Mark was a Fullback for the Wisconsin Badgers, who played in the 1994 Rose Bowl. Central Scouting has Montgomery ranked #101 for North American Skaters.

Monty is a 6'4",181lb power-forward who excels in all areas of the ice, and has the ability to drive play- at least at the USHL level. He's a jaw-dropping skater with a long, powerful stride that he can use to beat the vast majority of his contemporaries. He gets a ton of breakaways and odd-man rushes by beating opposing defensemen to open ice in the neutral zone- he can fly at top speed, blowing past the other 9 skaters on the ice. He can outskate defensemen wide, win races against smaller players, and has strong edges to brake instantly in order to hit the trailer. To add to his speed, he's a smooth stickhandler and his reach gives him tight puck-protection with the ability to handle outside the reach of enemy sticks. He also demonstrates slick moves and deception to outmanouvre waves of checkers, and to make room for himself to slice through traffic like butter. This set of skills have made him a dynamic transition ace, with eye-popping metrics in this area, and a high number of controlled entries. His adversaries simply can't match his speed or overwhelming pace, and he makes breezing through the neutral zone like a ghost look easy. The main contribution to offense in his repertoire is his twine-bulging talents, with a shot that has eyes, soft hands and moves to beat goalies in-close, and the fearlessness to crash the crease for second-chance opportunities. He will cut inside to unleash, and has a nearly invisible release to facilitate his laser of a shot, with a beautiful curl-and-drag wrister in his pocket to freeze goalies. Though he's clearly a shooter first, he's also a quality playmaker with good IQ and vision who can make complex plays to teammates in high-danger, including across the ice, and through the crease.

Montgomery uses his size well to win body positioning over opponents, and to come out of battles with the puck. He's physical, finishes all of his checks and hits hard, but he's not particularly mean. His defensive contributions are impressive, with good metrics in this area on a bad team, and may be his ticket to the NHL if all else fails. All of his physical tools enable him to be highly disruptive and intimidating- he dominates along the wall, supports his D down low, and forces turnovers high in the zone frequently. He suffocates puck-carriers in all 3 zones. Most of Monty's offense comes off the rush, as he has some trouble generating in-zone, and it's hard to say how well his attack will translate to the pros- but he could make an excellent bottom-6 player on a checking line, with the chance of making to an NHL-team's middle-6. I invite anyone reading this to treat yourself, and go watch his highlights- you'll love this kid, even though expectations have to be somewhat tempered because of his age, and the level he's playing at. Monty is following in his Uncle Mark's footsteps by committing to the U of Wisconsin for the 2025-26 season, so he has an extra-long runway. I'm guessing 5th, or 6th-round.