Six Nations of the Grand River is coming together to watch the game to cheer on their hometown hero, Florida’s Brandon Montour.
Montour, 29, is of Mohawk descent and spent part of his youth in Six Nations of the Grand River. He played junior hockey in nearby Brantford and Caledonia.
In addition to hosting viewing parties for all of the Stanley Cup Final games, the community is decked out in mini jersey decals and red bows.
Leenie Hill who owns Flowers by Leenie in the Iroquois Village Plaza has been making decorations for the community almost non-stop since the Panthers booked their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. She admits, she’s not usually a Florida fan but has hopped on the bandwagon to cheer on Montour.
While they are cheering loud and proud for Montour to bring home the Cup, local residents know that win or lose he is an inspiration for everyone in the community, especially the next generation.
One community member CHCH News spoke with said, “It’s really nice to see people from the community in such a prestigious position. It gives a lot of encouragement that there’s space for us there,” and another person added, “Just seeing other Indigenous people in the NHL and that they can succeed basically gives them hope that they can see themselves doing that as well.”
Montour says the support he has gotten, as well as teammate Zac Dalpe from Paris, Ont. has been a huge motivation. “To have two guys playing at this level and playing into June, you’ve got the whole city, the whole town, the reserve watching to support. We don’t want to let them down, and we’re gonna play as hard as we can to get that done.”
Montour is not the only Panthers player with local connections. Waterdown’s Carter Verhage is going for his second career Stanley Cup. He won while a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020.
