Montour Practices with Ducks, Eager for NHL Debut

In the midst of yet another outstanding season in the American Hockey League with the San Diego Gulls, defenseman Brandon Montour could make his eagerly anticipated NHL debut tomorrow night in Calgary. The 22-year-old will travel with the team to Alberta in place of Sami Vatanen (under the weather), who didn't skate this morning in Anaheim.

Montour played last night with the Gulls, who dropped a 2-1 overtime final at home against the Ontario Reign. Shortly after the game he phoned his mom to tell her the news, and he says he'll likely reach out to a few others in the coming hours. If Montour plays tomorrow night, it'll mark the one-year anniversary of Shea Theodore's NHL debut, which also happened to be in Calgary on Dec. 29, 2015.
"Obviously a lot of emotions because it's my first time," Montour said, on being recalled. "I'm excited to get going. This is what I grew up playing the game for. I'm ready to go. If it's there, it's there. If it's not, I'll just keep waiting."
The Ohsweken, Ontario native has excelled at every tier of hockey he's competed in dating back to 2011-13 when he was a standout player for the Brantford Eagles and Caledonia Corvairs, respectively, of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). From there, he went on to play for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) before transitioning to NCAA Division 1 hockey with UMass Amherst.
Montour made his pro debut with the Norfolk Admirals at the tail end of the 2014-15 season and led all AHL defensemen in assists (45), ranked second in scoring (57) and was named to the AHL First All-Star Team last year with San Diego.
This season, Montour currently leads the AHL in shots (113) while co-leading San Diego with 21 points (7g/14a) and ranking tied for fourth in goals and tied for sixth in scoring among AHL defensemen.
"He's earned the opportunity," said Carlyle. "He was a player we thought would be challenging for a spot out of training camp. It didn't materialize, but he went down and worked hard. All the reports are he's been their best player."

More on Vatanen, Stoner
Carlyle said Vatanen won't accompany the team to Calgary today, but didn't rule out the possibility of him joining them later on. Tomorrow's game marks the opener of a back-to-back that concludes on Friday night in Vancouver.
Clayton Stoner underwent abdominal surgery on December 21 - a procedure that is expected to have a 4-to-6-week recovery time, according to Carlyle. Stoner has been limited to 14 games this season and hasn't played since November 15 against the Edmonton Oilers. The 31-year-old defenseman has recorded 48 points (7g/41a) and 459 penalty minutes in 360 career NHL games with Minnesota and Anaheim.
New Line Combinations
Carlyle switched up two of the four forward lines today, most notably separating Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and moving Rickard Rakell back to the center position. Line rushes in practice were the following:
Ritchie-Getzlaf-Kase
Cogliano-Kesler-Silfverberg
Vermette-Rakell-Perry
Cramarossa-Shaw-Noesen/Boll
This isn't the first time Getzlaf and Perry have been split up, and it certainly won't be the last. Carlyle likes keeping his forwards in pairs, so there's familiarity with Rakell and Perry together and Ritchie with Getzlaf. Whether these lines carry over into tomorrow's game remain to be seen.
Anaheim's defensemen rotated with one another, at least to the eye, so definitive pairings couldn't be determined. We should know more during the team's morning skate tomorrow at Scotiabank Saddledome.