Oilers Trade Shawn Belle to Colorado for Kevin Montgomery

[Thrillhouse]

General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have acquired defenceman Kevin Montgomery from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenceman Shawn Belle.

Montgomery, 22, has appeared in 51 games this season with the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey league recording 19 points (2G,17A) and 34 penalty minutes.

The 6’2”, 190-pound Rochester, NY native was originally selected by Colorado in the 4th round, 110th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Montgomery spent three seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League playing in 140 games scoring 12 goals and adding 84 assists for 96 points.

Internationally, Montgomery skated in six games for Team USA at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship. He also played for the USA National U-18 Team in 2005-06 and was a member of the USA National U-17 Team in 2004-05.

[thepolishkid88]

Blockbuster!

[dp]

What's this trade about?

I thought Belle was a heck of a prospect.

6' 1" 235 lbs...20 points in 39 games in the AHL so far.

[Godly_goon]

yea edmonton got screwed on this one... edmonton had one decent defensive prospect before today and that was belle who they traded for a career AHL player... doesnt make sense

[TheJoker]

Originally Posted by Godly_goon

yea edmonton got screwed on this one... edmonton had one decent defensive prospect before today and that was belle who they traded for a career AHL player... doesnt make sense

I don't know what to think of this trade, but Belle wasn't in the future plans. Guys like Marincin, Plante, and now Teubert are better defensive prospects moving forward.

[DARCY T]

belle travels a lot for being such a prospect.i thought he was gonna be a solid nhl player

[thepolishkid88]

TSN was saying he wasnt happy in OKC. Said he was "sulking"

[Godly_goon]

Originally Posted by TheJoker

I don't know what to think of this trade, but Belle wasn't in the future plans. Guys like Marincin, Plante, and now Teubert are better defensive prospects moving forward.

i dunno i always thought Belle was a big part of the future... they gave him opportunities to play with the big club where he played ok... i just see him having a way better career then Montgomery honestly i see Montgomery as a career AHL player and i see Belle as a 3-4th Defenceman in the NHL

[The_Sheriff]

Belle is 26, no young up and comer. Montgomery is 22. Im happy to have Belle in the system, but Kevin isnt a career AHLer, this is his second full season.

[OilersHockey]

Originally Posted by TheJoker

I don't know what to think of this trade, but Belle wasn't in the future plans. Guys like Marincin, Plante, and now Teubert are better defensive prospects moving forward.

Don't forget Petry, Chorney, and at least one of the Oilers first round picks this year (either 1st overall or LA's pick) will be a D man...

[OilersHockey]

Originally Posted by DARCY T

belle travels a lot for being such a prospect.i thought he was gonna be a solid nhl player

Exactly. The Oilers aren't the first team to have given up on him...

[JKidd]

Originally Posted by OilersHockey

Exactly. The Oilers aren't the first team to have given up on him...

Nope... I know the Wild gave up on him a while back.

Quite simply put, he's not smart enough to come up and play. He doesn't know when to pinch, he doesn't read the defensive zone coverage well, and he can't judge angles well enough, or distance and rates well enough to line guys up coming into the zone for a hit.

Simply put, he had the physical tools, but not the smarts, to play here in Minnesota.

He came up, and was completely lost. Was happy to see him sent packing wherever the hell he went from here.