Sean Montgomery playing his final game as a member of the Raiders against the Guelph Storm during the 2019 Memorial Cup. (Vincent Ethier/CHL Images)

By Nick Nielsen

PA to Poland

Alumni check-in: Pro career takes Montgomery to Poland

Dec 24, 2025 | 9:41 AM

It’s now been seven hockey seasons since the Prince Albert Raiders last won a WHL Championship and in that time, former assistant captain Sean Montgomery has been to three different countries as he pursues his pro career. Now, he’s a member of the Cracovia Krakow in the Polska Hokej Liga (PHL).

Montgomery is the all time leader in games played for the Raiders with 345 in the regular season, and another 35 in playoffs. Montgomery has a full 29 games played ahead of Brett Novak for the all time record, and Montgomery did it in one less season with the Raiders. It’s a record that Montgomery is proud to have, and is sure no one will touch.

“It was obviously an honour to be able to play that many games. Every game was a big part of my hockey career and even just growing up as a person as well.”

While all five seasons Montgomery spent with the Raiders were special, that last championship year sticks out as the clear favourite of his career. When thinking back to that championship run, there are two moments that stand out personally for Montgomery.

All Raider fans will remember Dante Hannoun’s overtime winner to clinch the championship against the Vancouver Giants. Most Raider fans will also remember the delay of game penalty Brett Leason took shortly before the championship goal was scored when he played the puck over the glass. Few Raider fans will remember who stepped on the ice to kill that penalty off. For Montgomery though, that’s a moment that will stick with him forever.

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“You’re definitely gripping the stick a little tighter when you’re out there killing the penalty in game seven overtime for sure. But I don’t know, I think at that point in the season, you’ve played so many games, you’re locked into what you’re doing, so you’re not worried about it too much. You’re just worried about killing the penalty.”

The other moment that sticks out in that playoff run was an offensive role, where in game one of their second round series against their rival Saskatoon Blades, Montgomery opened the scoring and added two more for his only career hat trick right there in the Art Hauser Centre.

“Anytime you can score against Saskatoon, especially in the playoffs, it’s always a really good feeling and with that hat trick… I was pretty pumped up after that one.”

During that year, one of the team’s traditions was taking turns announcing the starting lineup in the dressing room ahead of the game, and if the team won that night, then that player would get the ‘honour’ of doing it again next game.

Montgomery got stuck with the job for a 19 game winning streak early in the season, and even though he was one of the team’s captains, he jokes that announcer role wasn’t something he was too fond of.

“We won quite a few in a row and it definitely wasn’t my favorite job, but I got stuck doing it for half the year it seemed like,” Montgomery said with a laugh. “I don’t remember exactly what I did, but I think it was pretty simple and quick. I was just trying to get it out quick and be done with it. Mine wasn’t too spectacular or anything.”

Montgomery is far from the only player from that 2019 team that is playing in the pros; five of them are playing for or connected to NHL teams. Even though they’re spread out around the world playing hockey, Montgomery said that the bond formed in that championship year has still kept that group connected to this day.

“It’s not every day that we’re talking, but we still have a group chat that we talk in sometimes, and in the summer there’s a few guys from Calgary on that team, so those guys are around all the time and we still catch up a little bit here and there.”

From his WHL career, Montgomery moved on to college hockey with the University of Western Ontario. He lost a whole second year of hockey thanks to the pandemic, but even still, he went from playing at least 65 games a season in the WHL to just 27 in USports while earning a degree in economics. That change in schedule made it difficult for Montgomery to prepare for a pro career.

“It’s definitely an adjustment because when you play in the WHL, all you think about is hockey and that’s it. But when you go to school, you have to do all the school work too. So, you have a lot more on your mind with taking exams and all the work and stuff. It’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment, but it’ll help you in the long run because hockey isn’t going to last forever, so you need something else. Luckily, I’ve been able to play a few years of pro now, so I haven’t had to use my schooling yet.”

Out of college, Montgomery had his first year of hockey split between the Norfolk Admirals in the ECHL, and the Leige Bulldogs in the Belgium pro league. His second season in the pros was spent entirely with the Admirals, and now in his third season he has moved to Poland with the Cracovia Krakow.

“The hockey’s pretty good. It’s better than I thought it was going to be. There’s some really good players and the fans really get into it here, and there’s a few rinks that sell out. They get quite a few people and they’re really loud to play in. So it’s been really fun, and the city where I am in, Krakow, it’s a really nice city too. So it’s been a pleasure to live here so far.”

There’s a lot of things about the Polish league that Montgomery has enjoyed, but so far the travel schedule might be the best part.

“Most of the places are an hour and that’s kind of it. The longest trip…I think it’s four hours. So it’s not too bad compared to P.A.”

Montgomery currently has 8G-4A-12P in 16 games this season, and his dual citizenship makes him both the only Canadian and only American on the team.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com