When Jim Montgomery was 14, an intramural floor hockey tournament was held at his high school in Montreal.
“So I went out and put a team together, and we won the championship,” Montgomery recalled.
“I really enjoyed that process — putting people in certain spots and explaining why I was playing them there,” he added.
The coaching seed had been planted.
Montgomery is in his third season as the head coach at the University of Denver and has led his Pioneers to their first Frozen Four appearance since 2005. Denver will meet National Collegiate Hockey Conference rival North Dakota in Thursday night’s Frozen Four semifinal at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
When Montgomery came to play hockey for the late Shawn Walsh at the University of Maine, the coaching bug really took hold.
“I saw how detailed they were as a coaching staff. They made the game so much easier for me,” Montgomery said. “I understood the game. That’s when I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
Montgomery exhibited leadership qualities at Maine, where he was a Hobey Baker Award finalist, a two-time All-American and the school’s all-time leading scorer with 301 points. He captained the 1992-1993 team to a 42-1-2 season and the school’s first NCAA championship.
Current Maine coach Red Gendron was an assistant for three years during Montgomery’s time at Maine and said he saw “characteristics normally associated with a successful coach.
“He was a very cerebral hockey player who was able to look at things at a much more critical level than your average player,” Gendron said. “Shawn Walsh used to say I want players who think like coaches and, without question, Jim was a player who fit that paradigm.”
Montgomery, one of only three players who had his jersey retired at Maine, went on to have a 12-year pro career that included 122 games in the NHL with five teams.
A start as player-coach
His coaching career began in his final pro season with the Missouri River Otters of the United Hockey League in 2004-2005. He was a player and an assistant coach.
The next year, he served as a volunteer assistant coach under the highly successful Jeff Jackson at Notre Dame. After a year at Notre Dame, he became a full-time assistant at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
Four years later, he left to become the general manager-head coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States (Junior) Hockey League.
The Fighting Saints won the Clark Cup championship, awarded to the playoff titlists, in two of his three seasons and he was recognized as the league’s top general manager in those two years. His three teams went a combined 118-45 during the regular season.
When the Denver and University of Maine jobs opened up after the 2012-2013 season, Montgomery was interested in both of them, but Denver had more to offer him.
His Pioneers have gone 69-36-14 since then and have made the NCAA Tournament all three years.
John Miller was the chairman of the selection committee at Denver. “All the things we valued matched up very well with Jimmy,” he said.
“He was very consistent. He was committed and had a great work ethic. He has never taken an easy path. We knew he would be successful. It was just a question of how long would it take for his players to adjust to his systems and his [expected] level of play,” Miller said.
Miller said Montgomery is a student of the game, makes very good in-game adjustments and has given his players a good foundation off and on the ice.
“He is committed to success at all levels,” he added.
Montgomery believes Gendron will revive the struggling Maine program and bears no ill will toward his alma mater.
“I don’t think about it at all,” 46-year-old Montgomery, a married father of three, said.
“One thing I learned from Shawn Walsh is to [view life] with your glass half-full. Denver gave me this opportunity. I just want to make this program elite again. I’ve been very fortunate to work with great people.”
Drawing on Maine roots
Montgomery’s Denver teams emulate Montgomery’s Maine teams.
“We play fast. We’re hard to play against when we don’t have the puck and when we do have the puck, we possess it with a purpose,” said Montgomery, whose 25-9-6 Pioneers have gone 18-2-2 over their last 22 games. “And I took a lot of my practice preparation and how we practice directly from Shawn.”
When he was at Dubuque, Montgomery hired former Maine assistant coach Grant Standbrook to serve as a part-time coaching consultant.
“Grant has forgotten more hockey than I’ll ever know,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery’s success doesn’t surprise Standbrook.
“He’s confident, he’s organized, he’s disciplined, he’s consistent and he can recruit,” said Standbrook, who called him a “leader and a catalyst” when he played at Maine.
Montgomery feels fortunate to have played for or worked for so many quality coaches, and he has learned from all of them. He feels he has continually improved as a coach by expanding his knowledge.
He and his coaching staff also watch a lot of NHL games and will apply things they see to their team.
“You can’t be stagnant or people will pass you by. This game is constantly evolving. We steal a lot from NHL teams. We’ll try things, but if they don’t work we won’t use them,” Montgomery said. “I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and call somebody if I see something that could help us. Even if we don’t use it for our team, if we see another team do it to us we’ll know how to stop it.”
“We take a lot of things from the Kings and the Blackhawks,” said Denver junior left wing Evan Janssen, who has played for Montgomery in Dubuque and Denver.
Montgomery is “at the top of the list” among coaches he has played for, Janssen said.
“He is so detail-oriented. He is so focused and driven,” he said. “He has been a winner wherever he has gone. His preparation is incredible. He knows how to get the best out of his players.”
University of Maine senior goalie Matt Morris played for Montgomery at Dubuque and called him a “real player’s coach.
“Guys love playing for him. He’s a great student of the game and a terrific teacher,” he said.
Montgomery has been pleased with his team’s progression after a 7-7-4 start, for which he shouldered blame.
“I gave them too much rope. I made a mistake. We weren’t detail-oriented enough in practice,” Montgomery said. “It has been great to be a part of watching this group of young men take complete ownership of the dressing room and time-outs. They’re low-maintenance. It’s nice to see how the chemistry has developed.”
Montgomery is a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award given to the nation’s top Division I coach, but he downplayed it.
“It’s nice to be mentioned, but it’s a formality if you’re in the Frozen Four. It’s all about the players. They’re the ones who make it possible,” he said.
He doesn’t think about coaching in the NHL. “I’m immersed in trying to win a championship,” he said. “I love living in Denver and love coaching here.”