The Colourful Pete Montana is Our New Head Coach for Girls' Hockey

It’s fitting that Pete Montana has a “place” in his name. During his six decades, he’s been all over the map!He’s crisscrossed Canada many times as a hockey coach and radio personality and now, he’s finally settled down as the newly-appointed head coach of the FEIA girls’ hockey team after four years as its associate coach, replacing Carley Blomberg, who has left the team.“I grew up as an Air Force brat and I’ve been travelling ever since,” he says. Pete has roomed with former Calgary Flames’ star Theo Fleury and worked with the NHL’s Sutter brothers. Montana was born in Halifax and followed his Air Force stepfather to Winnipeg, where he learned to skate at age five and held a key to the shack for the local rink. By 12, he was an all-star defenceman in Winnipeg and then it was on to Chatham, N.B., before leaving with his mother to St. Albert, Alta., where he played Junior A hockey.At 17, he joined the Canadian Navy for two years, as his biological father had done before him.At 19, Pete’s adventure continued as radio broadcaster in Lethbridge and soon he was pre-game radio announcer for the Flames’ games, where he became tight friends with Fleury and helped him write his autobiography Playing With Fire. When their marriages broke up, they moved in together for a year and ran a hockey school for eight years. “Pete was always good to hang with,” Fleury said.Montana has also lived on Vancouver Island and in Timmins, Ont., and worked with Hockey Canada and the Ontario Hockey Academy.Coaching and recruiting became a big part of his life with boys’ and girls’ teams.“Moving around a lot forced me to find a way to make friends wherever I went,” he said. “My life has been amazing.”In 2022, Pete was recruited by FEIA. The Lady Falcons have had success as a team while producing 19 players who have won scholarships to NCAA schools and two professionals. “Every single player we’ve had in four years has received a university or college scholarship,” he said. “Wins are not as important as developing talent. Scouts who watch us play don’t care about our team record. They want to see our players’ skills.”One of his grads, Sinia Gubser, played this past season for the championship pro team in Switzerland. “Pete is an amazing coach and human, whose kindness and support created an environment where I can grow,” she said. “He and (Blomberg) taught me the importance of discipline, accountability, and resilience, showing up every day with the right mindset, learning from mistakes and continuing to push forward.”Pete says that girls are generally easier to coach than boys. “They tend to be more even-tempered. When you explain (a strategy) you don’t need a clipboard. They make adjustments and execute.”As well, the girls’ game is not quite as physical. “You rarely see a fight. Maybe it’s partly because the boys have more testosterone?”Girls’ hockey is booming – Ontario has about 50,000 registered players.“We’re continuing to grow our program and next season should be our best,” he said.One of Pete’s first jobs is to pick a new associate coach for the Lady Falcons.