Deep Ink: Brandon Montour

The life of a professional hockey player contains so many moments of significance, both near and far from home. That life also relies on the strength each athlete gains from connection to those most important to them.

In this edition of Deep Ink presented by Kraken Rum, we dig into how Brandon Montour uses tattoos to mark moments and places that mean something to him including the family that is always close to his heart, no matter where he may be.

The Kraken defender got his first tattoo when he was 16 or 17, he says, and impressively, he was his own artist.

Montour drew a silhouette of himself holding both a hockey stick and a lacrosse stick over his shoulder, and a helmet by his side. In the background, you see a dreamcatcher, a traditional talisman within the Native American community, and a nod to Montour’s Mohawk heritage.

“I designed that myself. I told my parents, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about getting a tattoo.’ They asked what it was going to be, and once they saw it, they were fine with it. They just asked me, please, to get it anywhere ‘insane,’” Montour says with his characteristic smile.

Montour moved on to his arm from there with a focus on those most important to him. “Most of my tattoos involve my family, my parents, my brothers,” Montour said.

The focus starts at the highest level and hones in from there. There is a tattoo of a Native American chief on his lower arm, “for my indigenous roots,” and an angel “for everyone,” adorns his shoulder.

From there, Montour’s ink highlights those he holds most dear. At his wrist are the words “mom” and “dad.”

“I got it because every time I look down, even before games and during my games, I can see it,” Montour said.

The birth years of his family – mom, dad, and both brothers sit right below the saying, “Anything is possible if you believe,” surrounded by flowers and some animals, including a lion, filling in the space. There are also some palm trees to mark the start of his NHL career in Anaheim as part of the Ducks organization.

Nestled into the ink designs is a nod to other important parts of Montour’s family, the four-legged ones.

“There’s an ‘LNG,’ that's for our dogs, Libby (a mini golden doodle) and Ginger (a mix they rescued). ‘Libby’ is his actual name, but it’s short for LeBron, and obviously, the crown is for him.”

And one of Montour’s newer and more special tattoos sits on the ring finger of his left hand. It’s a solitary “R” for his wife, Ryian. Montour got that ink done in Nashville after the couple married there.

While the defender’s sleeve is practically complete, when it comes to tattoos, his thigh is still a work in progress. Montour loves animals and has a frog, an owl, and a wolf inked onto his upper leg. Those pieces have come from collaboration with the artist Montour works with the most, Steve Hill, with 16 Aces in Ontario.

While Montour has worked with a few artists in California and Florida, the majority of his ink has been done by Hill.

“We kind of just spitball (concepts),” Montour said. “I've had so many tattoos, I think when you get to a certain point, it's kind of like his art as well, right? So, we're kind of continuing that (partnership).”

But, true to his devotion to family, that theme comes through once more. Along the side of Montour’s leg is a blade with an “M” at the bottom and a scroll wrapped around it that reads “1943, CN, 2018.”

“This was a tattoo my grandpa actually had,” Montour said. “After he passed, all the grandkids…there were nine of us…got the same tattoo. The ‘M’ is for our family (name). The years are when he was born and when he passed, and ‘CN’ are his initials-- his name was Craig Noble.”

Montour’s thigh will get more ink, and so will his back – a space reserved for his biggest pieces yet.

On his left shoulder is the date of his first NHL game. As well as a tribute in the form of initials and a number to a friend who passed away when Montour was 20 years old.

There’s also a motivational quote Montour found that covers his upper back.

And from there, milestone moments get marked in spectacular form. A Stanley Cup sits above his left hip to mark the championship Montour won as a member of the 2023-24 Florida Panthers. Montour’s dad got a slightly different version as well.

Friend, former teammate, and current Kraken broadcaster, J.T. Brown, will tell you that one of Montour’s favorite pranks is to ask a friend to scratch an itch on his back so they end up seeing the Cup tattoo.

The large pieces surrounding the Cup memorialize the birth of Montour’s first two children. Son Kai has palm trees and a beach to call back to Boca Raton, where he was born. Daughter Maison has the mountains and glorious pines of the Pacific Northwest to snap her Seattle birthplace.

And it’s that ever-growing story of Brandon Montour that will likely dictate what comes next. There’s more ink to come, something he usually tackles during the off-season.

“I think my whole thing (getting tattoos) probably will never stop,” Montour said. “I've always liked art, things like that. It all resembles all the same themes, right? Every time I look at one of my tattoos, I think of that person, that moment or who it may be involved with.”

Photos: Chris Mast