Brian Bellows

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Brian Bellows
Brian Bellows.jpg
Bellows in 2008
Born (1964-09-01) September 1, 1964 (age 59)
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Right
Played for Minnesota North Stars
Montreal Canadiens
Tampa Bay Lightning
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Washington Capitals
Berlin Capitals
National teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1982
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 19821999

Brian Edward Bellows (born September 1, 1964) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played nearly 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. He was a member of the 1993 Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens.

Contents

Playing career

Bellows played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers. During this time, he was featured in Sports Illustrated , which described him as the hottest prospect since Wayne Gretzky. [1] In his two seasons with Kitchener, he captained the team to two consecutive Ontario Hockey League championships and two Memorial Cup finals, winning the trophy on their second attempt, 7-4 vs the Sherbrooke Beavers.

Bellows was drafted second overall by the Minnesota North Stars, who had acquired the draft pick in a trade with Detroit with the purpose of having a shot at Bellows. North Stars GM Lou Nanne sent Don Murdoch, Greg Smith, and a first-round pick (Murray Craven) to the Wings in exchange for what later turned out to be the second overall draft pick. Bellows was often compared to Gretzky, which led to a tough rookie season. The pressure of such comparisons caused criticism when he did not live up to them.[ citation needed ] Bellows improved greatly in the second half of the season and finished with 35 goals. In the playoffs that year, Bellows scored 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 9 games.

Bellows played 10 seasons with the North Stars and was popular in Minnesota for his charity work, as well as his goal-scoring. He had a North Star record 342 goals in 753 games, peaking with 55 goals in 1989–90. In 1990–91, Bellows scored 29 points in the post-season to become the North Stars' career playoff point leader and took the North Stars to the Stanley Cup finals where they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When team captain Craig Hartsburg was injured partway through the 1983–84 season, Bellows was named interim captain for the remainder of the season. At 19 years and 4 months, Bellows became captain at an earlier age than Connor McDavid, Gabriel Landeskog and Sidney Crosby. However, because Bellows was an interim captain, McDavid is still considered the youngest captain in history. [2] [3]

On August 31, 1992, Bellows was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Russ Courtnall. [4] The trade angered Bellows at first, but he relished the chance to play for the Canadiens.[ citation needed ] In the 1992-93 NHL season his 88 points were the second highest season total of his career, and his 15 playoff points helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1993.

As his career was winding down, Bellows played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. In the 1997–98 season the Capitals made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Detroit Red Wings. En route to the Eastern Conference championship, Bellows scored the series-clinching overtime goal in the first round in Game 6 against the Boston Bruins. The 1998–99 season was his last. On January 2, 1999, Bellows scored his 1,000th career regular season point, becoming the 54th NHL player to reach that plateau.

Bellows was named to the 1990 second All-Star team and played in three NHL All-Star Games (1984, 1988 and 1992). He retired with 485 goals, 537 assists and 1,022 points. He was named the top forward at the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships, as Canada won the silver medal.

Personal life

Bellows lives in Edina, Minnesota, and works in Minneapolis as a broker at investment bank Piper Jaffray. [5]

Bellows's son Kieffer Bellows in 2016 was drafted in the first round, 19th overall, by the New York Islanders. [6]

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1979–80 St. Catharines Falcons GHJHL 44508013026
1980–81 Kitchener Rangers OMJHL 664967116231614132713
1980–81 Kitchener Rangers M-Cup 56064
1981–82 Kitchener RangersOHL47455297231516132911
1981–82 Kitchener RangersM-Cup566124
1982–83 Minnesota North Stars NHL 7835306527954918
1983–84 Minnesota North StarsNHL784142836616212146
1984–85 Minnesota North StarsNHL782636627292469
1985–86 Minnesota North StarsNHL7731487946550516
1986–87 Minnesota North StarsNHL6526275334
1987–88 Minnesota North StarsNHL7740418181
1988–89 Minnesota North StarsNHL602327505552358
1989–90 Minnesota North StarsNHL8055449972743710
1990–91 Minnesota North StarsNHL80354075432310192930
1991–92 Minnesota North StarsNHL8030457541744814
1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL824048884418691518
1993–94 Montreal CanadiensNHL773338713661232
1994–95 Montreal CanadiensNHL4188168
1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL792326493962024
1996–97 Tampa Bay LightningNHL71230
1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL6215132822112462
1997–98 Washington Capitals NHL1163962167136
1997–98 Berlin Capitals DEL 291917361840220
1998–99 Washington CapitalsNHL7617193626
NHL totals1,1884855371,0227181435171122143

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1984 Canada CC 50110
1987 Canada WC 101348
1989 CanadaWC1086142
1990 CanadaWC83698
Senior totals3312162818

See also

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References

  1. "The Hunt Is On". Sports Illustrated. October 12, 1981. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  2. Sadowski, Rick (September 4, 2012). "Colorado Avalanche make Gabriel Landeskog youngest-ever NHL captain". NHL.com. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  3. McKeon, Ross (December 10, 2007). "Mailbag:More Crosby". Yahoo! Sports Canada. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  4. "North Stars Trade Bellows to Canadiens". Los Angeles Times. September 1, 1992. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  5. "Where are they now? Brian Bellows". Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  6. Compton, Brian (June 30, 2016). "Bellows excited to follow in father's footsteps". NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
Preceded by Minnesota North Stars first round draft pick
1982
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minnesota North Stars captain
1984
Succeeded by
Craig Hartsburg