Brian Bellows
Encyclopedia
Brian Bellows is a retired professional ice hockey
player. He played nearly 1200 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.
with the Kitchener Rangers
. During this time, he was featured in of Sports Illustrated
, which described him as the hottest prospect since Wayne Gretzky
.
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 criticisms when he did not live up to them. 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 Sidney Crosby
. However, because he was an interim captain, Crosby is still considered the youngest captain in history.
On August 31, 1992, Bellows was traded to the Montreal Canadiens
for Russ Courtnall
. The trade angered Bellows at first, but he relished the chance to play for the Canadiens. Bellows remarked "I hope to score more than last year. I want to come in and prove I can still play to the levels expected. I was shocked [about the trade] but I'm excited about the new change. My idol was Ken Dryden. It's every kid's dream to play for the Canadiens." 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 NHL 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 1000th 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.
NOTE: Bellows was interim captain for the 1983-84 NHL season for the games in which Craig Hartsburg was injured and out of the line-up.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. He played nearly 1200 games in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
, Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
. He was a member of the 1993
1993 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1993 Stanley Cup Final series was contested by the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens to decide the NHL championship for the 1992–93 season. It was the first appearance in the Final for the Kings, and the 34th for Montreal, their first since the 1989 Final. The Canadiens won the...
Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
-winning Montreal Canadiens.
Playing career
Bellows played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey LeagueOntario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
with the Kitchener Rangers
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted...
. During this time, he was featured in of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, which described him as the hottest prospect since Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
.
Bellows was drafted second overall by the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
, 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
Lou Nanne
Louis Vincent Nanne is a retired ice hockey defenceman and general manager who has made significant contributions to hockey in the United States.- Early life :...
sent Don Murdoch
Don Murdoch
Donald Walter Murdoch is a retired former professional ice hockey player. After a standout junior career with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Murdoch made the New York Rangers as a 20-year-old and had an impressive rookie scoring 56 points in 59 games his rookie season...
, Greg Smith, and a first round pick (Murray Craven
Murray Craven
Murray Dean Craven is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1982–83 and 1999–2000.-Playing career:...
) 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 criticisms when he did not live up to them. 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
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
.
When team captain Craig Hartsburg
Craig Hartsburg
Craig William Hartsburg is a retired Canadian professional hockey player and associate coach in the National Hockey League for the Calgary Flames. He also coached in the Ontario Hockey League. He has previously been an NHL head coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and...
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 Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby
Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
. However, because he was an interim captain, Crosby is still considered the youngest captain in history.
On August 31, 1992, Bellows was traded to the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
for Russ Courtnall
Russ Courtnall
Russ Courtnall is a former NHL player. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings...
. The trade angered Bellows at first, but he relished the chance to play for the Canadiens. Bellows remarked "I hope to score more than last year. I want to come in and prove I can still play to the levels expected. I was shocked [about the trade] but I'm excited about the new change. My idol was Ken Dryden. It's every kid's dream to play for the Canadiens." In the 1992-93 NHL season
1992-93 NHL season
-Montreal vs. Los Angeles:Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–1. Patrick Roy wins Conn Smythe Trophy-NHL Awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:-Leading goaltenders:-Complete list of neutral-site games:The Hartford-St...
his 88 points were the second highest season total of his career, and his 15 playoff points helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
in 1993.
As his career was winding down, Bellows played for the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
. In the 1997–98 NHL season the Capitals made it to the Stanley Cup finals, but lost to the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
. 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
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
. The 1998–99 season was his last. On January 2, 1999, Bellows scored his 1000th 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.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1980–81 | Kitchener Rangers Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted... |
OHL Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada.... |
66 | 49 | 67 | 116 | 23 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 13 | ||
| 1981–82 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 47 | 45 | 52 | 97 | 23 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 11 | ||
| 1982–83 | Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
78 | 35 | 30 | 65 | 27 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 18 | ||
| 1983–84 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 41 | 42 | 83 | 66 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 6 | ||
| 1984–85 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 72 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | ||
| 1985–86 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 77 | 31 | 48 | 79 | 46 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 1986–87 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 65 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 77 | 40 | 41 | 81 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 60 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 55 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1989–90 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 80 | 55 | 44 | 99 | 72 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 1990–91 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 80 | 35 | 40 | 75 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 30 | ||
| 1991–92 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 80 | 30 | 45 | 75 | 41 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | ||
| 1992–93 | Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL | 82 | 40 | 48 | 88 | 44 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 18 | ||
| 1993–94 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 33 | 38 | 71 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 41 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the... |
NHL | 79 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1996–97 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1996–97 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 62 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Berlin Capitals | DEL | 31 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Washington Capitals Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup... |
NHL | 11 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | ||
| 1998–99 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 76 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| OHA/OHL totals | 113 | 94 | 119 | 213 | 46 | 31 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 24 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1188 | 485 | 537 | 1022 | 718 | 143 | 51 | 71 | 122 | 143 | ||||
See also
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
External links
NOTE: Bellows was interim captain for the 1983-84 NHL season for the games in which Craig Hartsburg was injured and out of the line-up.