University of Denver senior forward Grant Arnold, a two-year captain from Centennial, wants to be a coach when he is done playing hockey. In reality, he already has his foot in the coaching door. Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery demands it.
Arnold is unofficially a player-coach for Montgomery, who delegates authority for the betterment of the team in a way that lowers his importance. The coach trusts his captain.
“About a month ago he said this is your guys’ team and great teams have great leadership throughout the team and at this time of year it’s not about the coach. It’s about the players,” Arnold, 24, said of Montgomery, 46. “I think that was a really cool thing for a coach to do.”
Said Montgomery: “I trust the guy with everything. I don’t worry about our dressing room. I don’t worry about how our team is doing strength and conditioning. I know with Grant, he’s always thinking team first and always holding people accountable.”
En route to advancing to this week’s NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., Arnold took Montgomery’s place as the Pioneers’ voice in postgame news releases. Montgomery still talked at the podium after dominating West Regional victories over Boston University and Ferris State, but Arnold was right there beside him.
“It’s been an awesome relationship with Monty and I think our communication has really risen to an elite level since Christmas,” Arnold said. “I thought it was always at a good level, but it has risen to a level that is highly elite, in my opinion, with a coach and a captain/player. Lately, I’ve really realized what a special relationship he has with me and our team.”
Montgomery and his staff execute the practice plans, but Arnold and his alternate captains oversee everything else.
“When you can get a group of young men to commit to something — and I mean really commit and do it daily, over and over with the details and enjoying the process — that’s a special accomplishment,” Arnold said. “It’s not about Monty by any means, and that’s so cool. It’s about the Denver Pioneers. That’s how this family, this culture, has come together.”
DU is 18-2-4 since Jan. 1. The Pioneers were 7-7-2 at Christmas.
Montgomery knows how to build a team throughout the season. He captained Maine to a 41-1-2 record and the 1993 NCAA championship. After a long professional career and brief stints as assistant coach for Notre Dame and RPI, Montgomery won two junior-A championships in three years as head coach and general manager of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League.
While in the USHL, Montgomery tried to trade for Arnold, who was captain of the Green Bay Gamblers. In the future, Montgomery said he would “absolutely” consider hiring Arnold as an assistant coach.
“He’s a people person, first of all, and a natural recruiter, and his ability to understand people and relate to them is uncommon,” Montgomery said of Arnold. “Great coaches are always the guys who end up making more of their playing careers than they probably should have. Grant has maximized his talent level because he works at the details of his game, studies video and has made himself a better hockey player every year of his career. That type of player can teach and coach any position.”
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers
Spotlight on …
Will Butcher, D, University of Denver
When: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
What’s up: Butcher, 21, and the Pioneers will play North Dakota in a national semifinal game at the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla.
Background: Butcher, a junior from Sun Prairie, Wis., was an Avalanche fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft. He was in the National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., before coming to DU.
Terry Frei’s take: Butcher has had a terrific season for the Pioneers. He scored two goals in their West Regional semifinal win over Boston University in St. Paul, Minn. The snag here is that he is listed at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, and the Joe Sakic-Patrick Roy regime has all but disowned the Avalanche’s earlier affinity for smaller, offensive-minded defensemen. Tyson Barrie is out of the same mold — although he is a little heavier and thicker — and it’s hard to imagine the Avs wanting more than one of that type on the NHL roster. So it will be interesting to see if and when the Avs try to sign Butcher.
