CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Al Montoya was defeated in his coaching debut at the 2026 Amerigol LATAM Cup on Saturday, but he had a winner’s smile afterward.
His Under-12 Cuban American team lost 4-3 to a squad of select players of Caribbean descent, but that didn’t diminish the pride and joy that the NHL’s first Cuban American player felt representing his familial homeland at the tournament.
“I've been a part of a lot of great teams, but this is something special,” said Montoya, who played 168 NHL games in goal with the Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers from 2009-18. “I felt like I was at a Cuban family dinner here with all the emotions that you feel on the bench in the 60-minute game.”
BC Photography
Montoya said having family in attendance at the Panthers IceDen and his son, Henry, scoring a first-period goal for the Cuban Americans, made it more emotional.
“Having my mom here, having the one that made the journey from Cuba to America so we could pursue our dreams, there's really no words for it,” Montoya said.
His mother, Dr. Irene Silva, who came to the United States in 1963, flashed a smile as wide as her son’s during the game Saturday.
“I’m very proud of him,” she said. “It’s quite a thing to do because he loves Cuba, even though he wasn’t born in Cuba.”
William Douglas
Montoya was selected by the New York Rangers with the No. 6 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut for the Coyotes on April 1, 2009, a 23-save performance in a 3-0 win at the Colorado Avalanche.
He went on to go 67-49-24 with a 2.65 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and seven shutouts, starting 136 games. Montoya retired after the 2017-18 season and is vice president of cultural growth and strategy for the Dallas Stars.
Coaching at the IceDen on Saturday was a homecoming of sorts for Montoya. He was a fan favorite during his two seasons in Florida (2014-16), where he was 18-14-5 with a 2.53 GAA and .908 save percentage in 45 games (35 starts).
Erin Harreld wore her autographed Montoya Panthers custom jersey to the IceDen on Saturday to cheer for him and his team.
“I love seeing the excitement that he has for hockey,” said Harreld, a resident of Davie, Florida. “I love that he's Cuban, and that he is so passionate about wanting to have more Spanish-speaking people involved in hockey.”
BC Photography
Team Cuba president Arnold Cuervo, mindful of Montoya’s popularity within South Florida’s Cuban community during the goalie’s playing days, reached out to him via Instagram and invited him to coach the U12 team.
“The first Cuban in the NHL and all the barriers that he broke, it’s absolutely amazing to have him be a part of this,” Cuervo said. “To have The Big Cubano on our side is a huge advantage, just because of who he is, and it validates what we’re doing.”
The Cuban American skaters are among more than 1,500 players competing this year in the LATAM Cup, which began Saturday at the IceDen in Coral Springs and Palm Beach Skate Zone in Wellington, Florida, and runs through Aug. 9.
They are representing 16 countries and territories, including Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Venezuela and Indigenous/First Nation tribes.
The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, through the NHL Industry Growth Fund and the Panthers, help support the tournament. The fund was created as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2013 to support and accelerate the development of League and club initiatives as well as projects that promote long-term fan development and increase participation in hockey at all levels.
“The people who assembled Team Cuba, the LATAM Cup, and the NHL and NHLPA being behind it and supporting,” Montoya said, “this is what it’s all about.”