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Brian Bellows
Brian Bellows
	Bellows in 2008
Born	September 1, 1964 (age 60); 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 team	Canada
NHL draft	2nd overall, 1982; Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1982–1999

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.

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 and achievements

Stanley Cup champion – 1993
3× NHL All-Star Game selection: 1984, 1988 and 1992
Ice Hockey World Championships scoring leader – 1989
NHL second All-Star team – 1990

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1979–80	St. Catharines Falcons	GHJHL	44	50	80	130	26	—	—	—	—	—
1980–81	Kitchener Rangers	OMJHL	66	49	67	116	23	16	14	13	27	13
1980–81	Kitchener Rangers	M-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	5	6	0	6	4
1981–82	Kitchener Rangers	OHL	47	45	52	97	23	15	16	13	29	11
1981–82	Kitchener Rangers	M-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	5	6	6	12	4
1982–83	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	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	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	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	Washington Capitals	NHL	11	6	3	9	6	21	6	7	13	6
1997–98	Berlin Capitals	DEL	29	19	17	36	18	4	0	2	2	0
1998–99	Washington Capitals	NHL	76	17	19	36	26	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			1,188	485	537	1,022	718	143	51	71	122	143

International

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1984	Canada	CC	5	0	1	1	0
1987	Canada	WC	10	1	3	4	8
1989	Canada	WC	10	8	6	14	2
1990	Canada	WC	8	3	6	9	8
Senior totals			33	12	16	28	18

References

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

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com

Preceded by Ron Meighan	Minnesota North Stars first round draft pick 1982	Succeeded by Brian Lawton
Preceded by Craig Hartsburg	Minnesota North Stars captain 1984	Succeeded by Craig Hartsburg